Brief Report: Association Between Autism Spectrum Disorder, Gastrointestinal Problems and Perinatal Risk Factors...

Area of Science:

• Neurodevelopmental Disorders
• Gastroenterology
• Environmental Health

Background:

• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is frequently observed alongside gastrointestinal (GI) issues, yet the underlying connection remains poorly understood.
• Existing research suggests a potential link between ASD and GI problems, but specific contributing factors require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and gastrointestinal (GI) problems.
• To explore the role of perinatal environmental factors in the relationship between ASD and GI issues.

Main Methods:

• A web-based survey was administered to parents of 217 sibling pairs, who were either concordant or discordant for ASD.
• Data collected included maternal weight gain during pregnancy, maternal infections, antibiotic use, breastfeeding duration, delivery mode, birth weight, and child GI problems.

Main Results:

• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was significantly associated with gastrointestinal (GI) problems.
• A summation of maternal infection and antibiotic use during pregnancy and/or breastfeeding correlated with ASD and GI issues.
• The association between GI problems and ASD remained significant within sibling pairs after adjusting for other factors (β = 1.23; p < .001).

Conclusions:

• The findings indicate that non-shared environmental factors may influence the association between ASD and GI problems.
• While perinatal environmental factors were implicated, the specific mechanisms driving the ASD-GI link were not fully elucidated by the examined variables.