There's a thread in research about circadian disruption that presents an interesting dilemma. To illustrate, I'm going to use a recent review about circadian dysfunction in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs)1.
Answering the question of “does circadian disruption cause”…
Here are some direct quotes from just the first two pages of this circadian dysfunction and autism paper that exemplify the issue:
...the dysfunction of the circadian timing system may be associated with ASD and its pathogenesis...
...circadian dysfunctions have been linked to an increasing number of human diseases including metabolic syndromes, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer...
...anomalies in timing have been observed in neurological and psychiatric diseases including seasonal affective disorders, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia,...
...the disruption of daily…