The University of Minnesota joined with 19 other institutions Thursday to launch the largest autism research study in U.S. history — an online registry of 50,000 patients and their families to uncover how genetic and environmental differences influence the course of the developmental disability.

The study itself is simple: people diagnosed with autism and their parents can register online, type in personal and medical information, and receive kits and instructions for sending in saliva samples by mail.

But in its simplicity the study will gather an unprecedented trove of data, at relatively minimal expense, that points to genetic patterns in the disorder.

"There are approximately 50 genes that have been identified that probably play a role in autism," said Dr. Suma Jacob, a U professor in pediatrics and psychiatry who is leading the local arm of the study, "but there are 300 to 500 or more that may be involved, and we need large numbers of families to be able to find that information."

Autism afflicts an estimated one in 68 children, and is often diagnosed by age 4, when communication, behavioral and cognitive deficits emerge, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The disorder is more common among boys but is found across races and ethnicities. Despite causing significant social and learning challenges, autism often afflicts children with average or above average intelligence.

But in the broad national context of autism are many mysteries, including the prevalence of the diagnosis in children in Minnesota's growing Somali immigrant community.

University research in 2013 found that the disorder was more common among Somali and white children in Minneapolis than it was among children nationally or among non-Somali black or Latino children in the city. Whether autism was actually more common — or simply diagnosed more often — in these groups was unclear, but the research also found that intellectual disabilities were more common among the Somali children who were diagnosed.

The new study, known by the acronym SPARK and funded entirely by the Simon Foundation, will seek genetic and other explanations for these kinds of demographic variations.

Part of the university's importance is helping the study attract a diverse population that includes Somali families in Minnesota, but Jacob said he anticipates participation from throughout the Midwest. Overall, the university will recruit as many as 2,400 people with autism, along with their parents, over the next three years.

"We're going to go very big and get more detailed data," Jacob said, "to then figure out ways to help individuals [with autism diagnoses] with all of the differences they have."

More information about the study can be obtained at SPARK-MN@umn.edu or 612-624-0116. Participants receive $50 gift cards, along with access to information about the latest research and treatment developments.

Jeremy Olson • 612-673-7744