Is there a link between autism and BPA?
World-renowned paediatrician Dr Harvey Karp has come up with a theory that autism and a chemical widely used in plastics could be related. reports.
FACT: About 1% of the world’s population has an autism spectrum disorder.
Myth: There is no link between autism and the MMR vaccine. Over the years, the causes of this disorder, which impacts the nervous system, have left experts dumbfounded and confused. Now paediatrician Dr Harvey Karp – best known for The Happiest Baby series – has devised his own theory on what causes autism.
At a Healthy Child Healthy World and Environmental Working Group luncheon he mentioned that there was a shift in diagnosis, saying: “We’re just calling things autism that we didn’t used to call autism.”
He said there are cases that never existed before and that shouldn’t be happening. Karp’s theory comes down to the chemical used in plasticised plastic called BPA.
BPA is an endocrine disrupting chemical and was first created to be an oestrogen. “They found they could put it into plastics. Every single one of you have BPA in your bodies just from all the exposure you have,” said Karp.
He explained that all these chemicals have a hormonal effect and “the weird thing is that hormones are signallers – they tell cells ‘Do this, don’t do that’ – and what can happen is these hormonally active chemicals make it into the brains of young babies or even before birth and shift the brain’s development.”
Long story short, Karp believes this could be related to autism because the disorder isn’t split evenly between the genders: “Boys get four times more autism, they’re diagnosed nine times more with Asperger’s Syndrome.” It may be the reason for the increase.
Sandy Usswald, national director of Autism SA, rubbishes Karp’s theory, saying that unfortunately there is no definitive answer to “what causes autism”.
“There are very varied opinions and often scaremongers appear scaring parents into believing that they have done something wrong,” she said.
Usswald also pointed out the holes in Karp’s hypothesis, saying that the logic used that BPA causes autism and therefore more boys have autism doesn’t make sense at all. “Baby girls also drink out of bottles and it also doesn’t explain how babies that are breastfed also present with autism.”
She then goes on to add that there are no peer reviewed studies that support his theory and Autism SA is strongly aligned to only evidence-based practice. “What we do know is that there is a genetic predisposition, and studies are now indicating that there are perhaps various genes responsible for various manifestations of autism, but there is no causal link to anything just yet.”
However, Dr Das Pillay, a paediatrician at St Augustines Hospital in Durban, who has a special interest in autism and autistic spectrum disorders, partly agrees with Karp: “The theory of BPA sounds plausible, but needs to be proven in a double blind randomised trial. Karp’s suggestions about BPA being in baby bottles and canned food is an interesting theory. We have also known for years that preservatives and additives have had an effect on the brain, its development, and the manner in which it functions.”
Dr Pillay says parents should give their children natural, wholesome foods, and stay away from additives, preservatives and carbonated drinks.