I spent nearly two decades interviewing authentic and so-called “experts,” on every topic imaginable during my years as a television reporter… which is probably why I am an extremely skeptical individual.
The media is notorious for broadcasting the latest and greatest studies about X, Y and Z, and in some cases not providing all the details.
For example, recently I read an interesting article about a study conducted by Danish researchers who claim that they may have found a link between jaundice and autism. My curiosity was peaked given that my daughter suffered from extreme jaundice as a newborn.
Danish researchers studied nearly 734,000 children and found that babies with jaundice were 67% more likely to be diagnosed with autism. What’s more, researchers also noted that the risk was even higher for babies born between October and March. Coincidentally, the same timeframe in which my daughter was born.
The article then branched off into symptoms or jaundice and autism. It wasn’t until the very end that the writer noted that researchers don’t know exactly why so many jaundiced infants are later diagnosed with autism. Some speculate that it might have something to do with the rampant number of mothers who suffer infections during the cold and flu season. Others note that since the fall and winter months have far less sunlight than spring and summer, and sunlight helps break down bilirubin, babies born between October and March are more susceptible to jaundice.
If you just skimmed the article or only tuned in for part of the TV news story on this new study you may be tempted to worry about your jaundiced child being diagnosed with autism. According to experts, if you have a jaundiced baby you shouldn’t be overly concerned given that 60% of full term babies and 80% of preemies suffer with the condition, but only a small fraction are later diagnosed with autism.
As parents we are to some extent forced to rely on doctors, pharmacists, teachers, and other professionals to help in the upbringing and development of our children. In the case of medical research, I prefer to leave the analysis to the experts and can only hope that the person in the media reporting on the new findings doesn’t fall into the trap of scaring parents by highlighting the sensational parts of the study and burying the details.