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Do These Results Warrant Publication?

Noel S. Weiss, MD, DrPH

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2008;162(11):1095-1096.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Waldman et al¹ present county-level correlations to suggest that in 3 US states during the latter part of the 20th century, the occurrence of autism was associated with relatively high levels of precipitation. In the next few paragraphs I will: (1) provide the basis for my opinion that this observation may well not lead to any insights into the etiologies of autism and (2) argue that the authors' analysis and the editor's decision to publish it are to be lauded, despite the uncertain ultimate contribution of this work and the possibility (likelihood?) that nonprofessionals are going to misinterpret and misuse it.

As Waldman et al indicate, one can conceive that precipitation or its consequences (such as increased television watching, reduced vitamin D levels, and enhanced exposure to indoor chemicals) might increase the incidence of autism. However, there are other possible explanations for the association with . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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