Journal
AUTISM RESEARCH
Volume 12, Issue 1, Pages 80-88Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/aur.1973
Keywords
autism spectrum disorder; body mass index; obesity; prenatal; maternal
Categories
Funding
- National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
- University of Western Australia (UWA)
- Curtin University
- UWA Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences
- Raine Medical Research Foundation
- Telethon Kids Institute
- Women's and Infants Research Foundation
- Edith Cowan University
- Murdoch University
- University of Notre Dame
- NHMRC [1077966, 1003424]
- National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia [1077966] Funding Source: NHMRC
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There is an emerging body of evidence demonstrating that maternal obesity at the time of conception increases the risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) among offspring. We explored whether pre-pregnancy weight was related to autistic-like traits among offspring not diagnosed with ASD. A large sample of women, recruited during the second trimester of pregnancy, had their height measured and reported their pre-pregnancy weight. These measurements were then converted to a Body Mass Index (BMI) using the formula: (weight in kilograms)/(height in metres(2)). At 19-20 years of age, 1238 offspring of these women completed a measure of autistic-like traits, the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Regression analyses identified a positive association between increasing maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and increasing AQ Total Score amongst offspring; this association was maintained even after controlling for a range of variables including maternal/obstetric factors (age at conception, education, smoking, alcohol consumption, hypertensive diseases, diabetes, threatened abortion), paternal BMI at pregnancy, and child factors (parity, sex) (P < .01, R-2=.03). Chi-square analyses found that women with pre-pregnancy obesity (BMI >= 30) were more likely to have offspring with high scores (>= 26) on the AQ (P = .01). Follow-up binary logistic regression analyses also accounting for the same obstetric and sociodemographic variables found that the offspring of women with pre-pregnancy obesity were at a statistically significantly increased risk of having high scores (>= 26) on the AQ (OR: 2.80; 95% CI: 1.06, 7.43). This study provides further evidence that maternal pre-pregnancy obesity is associated with autism-like behaviors in offspring. Autism Research 2019, 12: 80-88. (c) 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Lay Summary The current study explored whether pre-pregnancy weight was related to autistic-like traits among offspring not diagnosed with ASD. We found that pre-pregnancy body mass index in women is associated with the amount of autistic-like traits in their children in early adulthood. Specifically, women who were obese at the time of conception were more likely to have a child who had high levels of autistic-like traits in early adulthood.
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