Circumcision leads to 46% increase in Autism rate!

@wrabbit2000,adjensen,dirkgently,@marlingrace,

Just speaking on the statistics alone, the supposed correlation between the two--circumcision and autism--is going to be highly contingent on where the data pool came from. Although the authors stated "regardless of cultural background", that query poll was of Danish males. Currently, 1,000-2,000 baby boys in Denmark are circumcised each year according to one article. The prevalence of circumcision in Denmark is actually statistically low. If it were in the US, it would look more like a false correlation but in Denmark, where circumcision rates have been low for decades, it makes it look more interesting.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/almost-threequarters-of-danish-people-want-to-ban-circumcision-9818518.html

However, also according to the above article, a significant majority of those who are getting circumcised in Denmark are either Jewish or Muslim. Unfortunately for their premise that circumcision increases risk of autism, there is no specific ethnicity tied to autism. If circumcision prevalence was correlated to autism prevalence, then ethnic groups with rigidly adhered to circumcision practices would show statistically significant increases in the number of children with autism. Does it?



www.jewishjournal.com/articles/item/autism_the_new_epidemic_19990416

That's a pretty big nope. The research being done in Jewish communities is due to the fact that those communities are smaller and therefore, the overall increase in autism rates is more likely to have a more significant impact on the community.

There's also one more major issue with the premise of circumcision leading to autism. *Looks down* Houston, we have a problem. That's right. They're ignoring the fact that autistic females (despite there even being a well known movie about one--Temple Grandin) actually exist and are obviously not circumcised. Females with autism are a lot more rare than males with autism but one thing that I've never seen directly broken out is the number of low functional v. high functioning as it has been noted that high functioning females have a tendency of hiding in plain sight. Our social awkwardness is more "acceptable" and written off as "shy", a "wallflower", and etc as opposed to being something odd.

Smart researchers make note of that when explaining the difference between female and male autism numbers. Although I was seeing child psychologists in my teen years due to problems with amnesia, not a single one ever diagnosed me with autism. It actually took direct observation of me for one week to have mental health professionals realize that not only was I autistic but my tendencies are severe. (To give an idea, I score 42 on the Autism Quotient). If a high functioning autistic female with severe tendencies can fly under the radar til the age of 24, how many more have they missed and what does it do to Denmark's circumcision means autism premise? It tanks it because we weren't circumcised (obviously).

As far as the infancy pain thing, they're looking for some reason to explain the strange phenomena that has been noted with autistic children and adults. We all have tactile problems that qualifies as a significant sensory abnormality. My nickname growing up was "The Princess and the Pea" as a little bed wrinkle can cause me discomfort. My son (also autistic) and I, when shopping and stumbling across a "gross" textured box, will pass it back and forth to each other like a game of hot potato because it's so disgusting. The winner is the one who can hold it the longest and it's hilariously gross. Yep, a box can be too gross to hold for very long. My hands just go "ewwww" at the thought of it.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2185746/

I'm with adjensen utterly on this. It's genetic. Someday, maybe they'll actually starting asking those with autism some questions so we can set them straight on a few things. After all, if there is one thing that I'm good at, it is identifying others of my own kind. I know exactly who is on the spectrum with me in my family and who isn't.