Parenting Facts: Research Reveal That Parents Taking Care Of A Child With Autism Are More Prone To Heart Disease

Taking care of a child with special needs may come as a huge obstacle for most parents. A study reveals that taking care of a child with autism may not only be costly but it can also place the parent at risk of heart disease as chronic stress can potentially increase the levels of bad cholesterol.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that almost 300,000 women lost their lives because of heart diseases in 2013. Mothers are being placed under a high amount of stress after childbirth as their hormones are still unbalanced. In addition to the stress levels brought about by pregnancy and childbirth, mothers of children with autism are facing high levels of stress each day, according to Medical Express.

Based on a study published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity, tested mothers going through different stress levels and the factors that influenced it. It was mentioned that the researchers gauged the cardiovascular risk factors of the mothers that participated in the study. Mothers aged from 20 to 50 with at least one child aged between 2 to 16 were the participants.

The first group is composed of 31 mothers with chronic stress with children diagnosed with autism. They were then compared to another group of 37 mothers (with children that do not have autism) were gauged with low to moderate stress levels. The researchers were keen in making sure that mothers from both groups have the same Body Mass Index and are both checked for cardiovascular risks.

"Children with autism are more likely to engage in behaviors that can be emotionally stressful for mothers, like becoming unpredictably aggressive, biting or hurting themselves, or expressing little affection," Kirstin Aschbacher, the lead researcher from the UCSF Department of Psychiatry, said. "Even knowing the challenges these mothers face, we were surprised by the differences in cardiovascular risk."

What are your thoughts on taking care of children with special needs? If you do have tips and suggestions when it comes to parenting and childcare, feel free to post them on the comment section below.