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Maternal Conditions and Perinatal Characteristics Associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Maternal Conditions and Perinatal Characteristics Associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability

Amanda T. Langridge, Emma J. Glasson, Natasha Nassar, Peter Jacoby, Craig Pennell, Ronald Hagan, Jenny Bourke, Helen Leonard and Fiona J. Stanley
PloS one, Vol.8(1), e50963
2013
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0050963
PMCID: PMC3538698
PMID: 23308096
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Published (Version of Record)CC BY V4.0,  Open Access

Abstract

Background As well as being highly comorbid conditions, autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) share a number of clinically-relevant phenomena. This raises questions about similarities and overlap in diagnosis and aetiological pathways that may exist for both conditions. Aims To examine maternal conditions and perinatal factors for children diagnosed with an ASD, with or without ID, and children with ID of unknown cause, compared with unaffected children. Methods The study population comprised all live singleton births in Western Australia (WA) between January 1984 and December 1999 (N = 383,153). Univariate and multivariate multinomial logistic regression models were applied using a blocked modelling approach to assess the effect of maternal conditions, sociodemographic factors, labour and delivery characteristics and neonatal outcomes. Results In univariate analyses mild-moderate ID was associated with pregnancy hypertension, asthma, urinary tract infection, some types of ante-partum haemorrhage, any type of preterm birth, elective C-sections, breech presentation, poor fetal growth and need for resuscitation at birth, with all factors showing an increased risk. Severe ID was positively associated with poor fetal growth and need for resuscitation, as well as any labour or delivery complication. In the multivariate analysis no maternal conditions or perinatal factors were associated with an increased risk of ASD without ID. However, pregnancy hypertension and small head circumference were associated with a reduced risk (OR = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.43, 0.94; OR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.34, 0.96, respectively). For ASD with ID, threatened abortion before 20 weeks gestation and poor fetal growth were associated with an increased risk. Conclusion Findings show that indicators of a poor intrauterine environment are associated with an elevated risk of ID, while for ASD, and particularly ASD without ID, the associations are much weaker. As such, these findings highlight the importance of accounting for the absence or presence of ID when examining ASD, if we are to improve our understanding of the causal pathways associated with these conditions.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Citation topics
1 Clinical & Life Sciences
1.136 Autism & Development Disorders
1.136.283 Autism Spectrum Disorders
Web Of Science research areas
Pediatrics
ESI research areas
Clinical Medicine
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