Older mothers linked to autism risk

A 2012 meta-analysis of 16 studies (25,687 ASD cases; 8.66M controls) found that children born to mothers aged 35+ have ~1.3x adjusted risk of autism compared with mothers 25–29, with a monotonic dose–response and an independent effect after accounting for paternal age and other confounders. The result was consistent across studies and stronger in cohorts with more male cases and in later‑diagnosed samples. — If maternal age independently increases autism risk, it affects family planning conversations, demographic projections, service provisioning for autism, and research/prioritization of biological mechanisms.