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Published on: March 27, 2012

Growth of head circumference in autistic infants during the first year of life

Aya Fukumoto1, Toshiaki Hashimoto, Hiromichi Ito

  • 1Division of Human Development and Health Sciences, Subdivision of Human Development, Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Health Biosciences, University of Tokushima Graduate School, 3-18-15, Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan. aya11@mb.tcn.ne.jp

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
|July 25, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Infants later diagnosed with autism showed normal head size at birth but experienced rapid head circumference growth by 1 month. This accelerated head growth peaked at 6 months, indicating early developmental differences in autistic children.

Area of Science:

  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Pediatric Growth Studies
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder Research

Background:

  • Early detection of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is crucial for timely intervention.
  • Head circumference (HC) growth patterns may offer insights into early neurodevelopmental trajectories.
  • Understanding typical versus atypical infant growth is essential for identifying developmental deviations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the head circumference (HC) growth patterns in infants diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during their first year of life.
  • To compare the HC growth of autistic infants with normative data.
  • To investigate the relationship between early HC changes and later ASD diagnosis.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of HC data from "mother-and-baby" notebooks of 85 infants diagnosed with ASD.
  • Data collected from birth up to 12 months of age.
  • Comparison of HC measurements with a Japanese Government Study cohort (14,115 children).

Main Results:

  • Autistic infants had HC similar to controls at birth.
  • A significant increase in HC was observed starting at 1 month post-birth.
  • The discrepancy in HC peaked at 6 months and diminished by 12 months.
  • Body length (BL) and body weight (BW) showed increased growth rates starting at 3 months, but less pronounced than HC increase.

Conclusions:

  • Rapid head growth in the first year of life is a potential early indicator in infants who later develop autism.
  • Abnormal head growth patterns may precede other developmental signs of ASD.
  • Longitudinal HC monitoring in infancy could aid in the early identification of autism spectrum disorder.

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