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The American Medical Association(1) journal Archives(2) of Pediatrics(3) & Adolescent Medicine(4) has published a new study by researchers(5) at Cornell University indicating evidence(6) of an environmental(7) trigger(8) for autism(9) among genetically(10) vulnerable(11) children. It is the first peer-reviewed(12) study to positively associate(13) the prevalence(14) of autism to a factor(15) related to the levels of precipitation(16) in the areas in which children live.

"This analysis is an important first step towards identifying a specific environmental trigger, or triggers, for autism," said lead author(17) Michael Waldman of the Johnson Graduate School of Management(18) at Cornell.

While many autism experts believe that the disorder(19) is triggered(20) by the combination of an environmental trigger and a genetic predisposition(21) (experts have identified genes(22) related to the condition but do not have a full understanding of the full set of(23) related genes), previous literature provides few clues(24) concerning what the important environmental triggers might be. "Our hope is that this study will spur(25) those in the medical community(26) to investigate what the specific trigger might be that is driving our findings, so that countless(27) children can be spared(28) an Autism Spectrum Disorder(29) diagnosis(30)," said Waldman, a professor of management(31) and economics(32).

Co-author(33) Associate Professor(34) Sean Nicholson of the College of Human Ecology(35) at Cornell added, "We looked at the hypothesis(36) using three different statistical approaches(37) and in each case we found strong evidence consistent with(38) the hypothesis."

Dr. John Williams of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry(39) at the Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania also contributed to(40) the study.