US Initiates Global Study on Autism ‘Epidemic’, Results Expected by September, Says RFK Jr.

WASHINGTON, April 11 — US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced yesterday that American authorities have launched a major global study to investigate the causes of the so-called autism “epidemic.”

Speaking during a televised cabinet meeting chaired by President Donald Trump, Kennedy said the initiative would involve hundreds of scientists from around the world.

“We’ve launched a massive testing and research effort that’s going to involve hundreds of scientists globally,” he said. “By September, we expect to identify the cause of the autism epidemic and eliminate the contributing factors.”

Kennedy, a known vaccine skeptic who has long promoted a debunked theory linking childhood vaccines to autism, claimed that autism rates have surged in recent decades.

“Autism rates have climbed dramatically — from one in 10,000 when I was a child to what we believe now is about one in 31,” he stated, without providing sources for the figures.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the current autism prevalence in American children stands at one in 36, a significant increase from previous estimates such as one in 150.

“That’s a devastating statistic, and there must be something artificial in our environment causing it,” Trump commented during the meeting.

Autism is a developmental disorder that may affect language, learning, and social or emotional development.

A 2022 global review of autism prevalence cited various contributing factors to the rising rates, including increased awareness, improved diagnostic practices, evolving definitions, and expanded healthcare access.

Research has also found associations between autism and factors such as advanced parental age. — AFP