The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said on Wednesday the agencies have partnered to enable research around the root causes of autism spectrum disorder.

The partnership will help NIH to build a real-world data platform enabling advanced research across claims data, electronic medical records, and consumer wearables.

CMS and NIH will start this partnership by establishing a data use agreement under CMS' Research Data Disclosure Program focused on Medicare and Medicaid enrollees with a diagnosis of autism.

Autism prevalence in the U.S. has increased to 1 in 31 children, from 1 in 36, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"We're pulling back the curtain — with full transparency and accountability — to deliver the honest answers families have waited far too long to hear," said U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Kennedy, a former environmental lawyer, has long promoted a debunked link between vaccines and autism.

Earlier in April, the U.S. health secretary said environmental contributors to autism are behind its rising prevalence, adding he plans to look at everything from mold to medicine to identify them.