RFK Jr. contradicts CDC on causes of autism
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Kennedy. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took the unusual step of publicly contradicting one of his own agencies' autism studies on Tuesday, suggesting at a press conference that "environmental factors" including drugs, not improved screening, were causing a spike in confirmed cases.
Why it matters: Kennedy's assertion that researchers and the media are engaging in what he called "epidemic denial" around the condition could further stoke vaccine skepticism and broader public trust in science, experts say.
- Patient advocates also contend categorizing the condition as a disease could steer attention and funding away from efforts to accommodate people with autism.
"One of the things I think we need to move away from today is this ideology that this diagnosis, rather the relentless increases, are simply artifacts of better diagnoses, better recognition," Kennedy said.
- He said he would announce a series of studies in the next two to three weeks to identify "precisely what the environmental toxins are."
- He suggested these could include mold, food additives, pesticides, air, water or medicines.
Catch up quick: Kennedy abruptly called his first Washington press conference after the Centers for Disease Control on Tuesday released a study which found one in 31 U.S. children are diagnosed with autism by their eighth birthday.
- The figure was 1 in 54 in 2016, per the agency.
- The study cited an uptick "might be due to differences in availability of services for early detection and evaluation and diagnostic practices."
- Differences in insurance coverage were also cited as a possible contributor.
Wednesday's packed event at HHS headquarters was tightly controlled, with only a handful of news outlets being offered the chance to ask questions.
- Kennedy suggested that industries are profiting off of environmental toxins that are driving more autism diagnoses.
- "Doctors and therapists in the past weren't stupid, they weren't missing all these cases. The epidemic is real," Kennedy said.
- "It's time for everyone to stop attributing this rise to epidemic denial," Kennedy said. "External factors, environmental exposures, that's where we're going to find the answer."
Zoom in: Kennedy has tapped David Geier, who has a history of promoting the discredited vaccine-autism link to lead what he termed a global effort to identify the cause of autism. He said it would be concluded by September.
- Over the weekend, the FDA's former top vaccine official Peter Marks warned the preconceptions and unrealistic timeline of this research would likely lead to flawed conclusions.
