Raymond F. Palmer

Raymond Francis Palmer
Alma materUniversity of Southern California
Scientific career
FieldsFamily medicine, child psychiatry
InstitutionsUniversity of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
ThesisCardiovascular reactivity as a moderator of the relation between cynical hostility and serum lipids : are there genetic influences? (1995)

Raymond F. Palmer is an associate professor of family and community medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA), a post he has held since 2003.[1] His area of expertise is biostatistics.[2]

In one study, Palmer et al. correlated Environmental Protection Agency data about the release of mercury in 254 Texas counties with special education cases and autism diagnoses in the state's 1,200 school districts.[3][4] At a press conference, Palmer stated that "This is not a definitive study, but just one more that furthers the association between environmental mercury and autism."[5] Thomas Lewandowski stated in a viewpoint that "... the conclusions drawn from the analysis are questionable",[6] and Palmer told WebMD that this type of study is not necessarily proof of a causative link between mercury and autism.[7]

Palmer has studied baby teeth for environmental toxins the children could have been exposed to during the prenatal period; this research was funded by a Suzanne and Bob Wright Trailblazer grant from Autism Speaks.[8] He has also studied the differences in autism rates between Hispanic children and white children, and has concluded that the former are less likely to be diagnosed with the disorder than the latter. He says that this difference is unlikely to be solely an artifact of socioeconomic factors.[9][10]

  1. ^ "Raymond Palmer, PhD". University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference UTHSCSA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Maugh, Thomas H. (17 March 2005). "Possible Mercury, Autism Connection Found in Study". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  4. ^ Palmer, R. F.; Blanchard, S.; Stein, Z.; Mandell, D.; Miller, C. (2006). "Environmental mercury release, special education rates, and autism disorder: An ecological study of Texas". Health & Place. 12 (2): 203–9. doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2004.11.005. PMID 16338635.
  5. ^ "Autism Risk Linked To Distance From Power Plants, Other Mercury-Releasing Sources". Science Daily. 25 April 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  6. ^ Lewandowski, T. A. (2006). "Questions regarding environmental mercury release, special education rates, and autism disorder: An ecological study of Texas by Palmer et al". Health & Place. 12 (4): 749–750. doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2005.10.005. PMID 16337825.
  7. ^ Denoon, Daniel J. (18 March 2005). "Mercury in Air Pollution: A Link to Autism?". WebMD. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  8. ^ "What's New in Environmental Research?". Autism Speaks official blog. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  9. ^ "Texas study confirms lower autism rate in Hispanics". Reuters. 29 December 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  10. ^ Palmer, R. F.; Walker, T.; Mandell, D.; Bayles, B.; Miller, C. S. (2010). "Explaining Low Rates of Autism Among Hispanic Schoolchildren in Texas". American Journal of Public Health. 100 (2): 270–272. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2008.150565. PMC 2804636. PMID 20019320.