Asthma as a risk factor for autism?

Asthma as a risk factor for autism?: The results reported by Po-Hsin Tsai and colleagues* detailing the presence of asthma as a potential risk factor for a subsequent diagnosis of autism provide some food for thought. Based on the examination of a large health insurance database based in Taiwan, researchers identified over 2000 preschool children diagnosed with asthma – a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the airways – and compared them with a non-asthmatic control group, looking for any subsequent evidence of a psychiatrist diagnosed autism spectrum disorder label (based on ICD-9 criteria) up to 8 years later.