RFK Jr. plans autism studies to identify 'environmental toxins' linked to rising rates
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the agency will soon announce autism studies aimed at identifying “environmental toxins” that may be responsible for rising rates in children.
WASHINGTON — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Wednesday that the agency will announce, within three weeks, a series of studies aimed at identifying “environmental toxins” he claims are responsible for a dramatic rise in autism rates in children in the U.S.
Kennedy spoke a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report that found in 2022, 1 in 31 kids in the U.S. were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder by their 8th birthday — up from 1 in 150 kids in 2000, when the agency began collecting data.
Autism diagnoses among 4-year-olds in the new report were estimated at 1 in 34.
Pediatricians and other health experts have attributed the increase largely to greater awareness and better surveillance of the disorder. Autism’s definition has also broadened to identify milder cases, which has contributed to more diagnoses.
Despite evidence that suggests there is no one single cause of autism, Kennedy is vowing to uncover an underlying reason by September.
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