Epidemiologic study links low maternal education to intellectual disabilities in offspring

By applying a public health approach, researchers at three universities have discovered a key indicator for increased risk of mental retardation in the general population. The study assessed population-level risk factors by linking birth records of 12-14-year-old children in Florida with their respective public school records, over the course of a school year. The results appear in the March 2008 issue of the American Journal of Mental Retardation.