Takeaway
- Prenatal infections, particularly maternal-reported, were associated with the increased odds of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in offspring.
- No association between hospital-recorded prenatal infections and ASD or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring was observed.
Why this matters
- Previous evidence suggests prenatal maternal infections as a risk factor for neurodevelopmental conditions in offspring.
Study details
- This study included 15,462 children and mother pairs from the UK Millennium Cohort Study.
- Data on hospital-recorded infections were obtained from linked maternity inpatient records, and maternal-reported infections were obtained from interviews at around 9 months after the birth of the cohort child.
- Funding: UK Economic and Social Research Council and others.
Key results
- Overall, 8.7% of mothers had a prenatal infection, either maternal-reported (n=1151) or hospital-recorded (n=253).
- ASD, ADHD and concurrent ASD+ADHD were reported in 3.7%, 3.2% and 1.2% of children, respectively.
- The occurrence of any prenatal infection was associated with an increased risk of ASD (adjusted OR [aOR], 1.48; 95% CI, 1.14-1.91).
- Hospital-recorded infections were not associated with ASD, ADHD or ASD+ADHD.
- Maternal-reported infections were associated with increased odds of ASD (aOR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.31-2.40), but not ADHD and ASD+ADHD.
Limitations
- No information on the timing of exposure to infections in the Millennium Cohort Study.
- Retrospective nature of the items on maternal-reported infections.
This clinical summary originally appeared on Univadis, part of the Medscape Professional Network.
