Curious Clusters

Over the past 20 years, hundreds of thousands of Somalis have fled their war-torn country, with many landing in Sweden and Minnesota. These immigrants have taken on fish-heavy diets, frigid winters and, curiously, autism diagnoses.Two years ago, researchers in both regions identified autism 'clusters' in Somali communities. The Swedish group, led by Elisabeth Fernell of the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, reported that among children born in Stockholm between 1988 and 1998, rates of autism in Somali children are three to four times higher than in non-Somali children. In the December issue of Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, Fernell's team finds that this number is rising: among children born between 1999 and 2003, rates of autism in Somalis are four to five times higher than in non-Somalis.Read more at...SFARI, December 2010.