The results of a new study involving over two million people from five countries suggest that autism spectrum disorder is 80% contingent on inherited genes. Dr. Andrew Adesman, director of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York notes, “Although families are often most concerned about environmental risk factors for autism, the reality is that genetic factors play a much larger role overall… [However,] this does not mean that we can completely ignore the environmental risk factors and their interaction with the genetic risk factors.”

JAMA Psychiatry, July 2019