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Neonatal Thyroid Stimulating Hormone and Subsequent Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders and Intellectual

Jennifer L Ames1, Gayle C Windham2, Kristen Lyall3

  • 1Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, Oakland, California.

Autism Research : Official Journal of the International Society for Autism Research
|December 12, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Newborn thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were not linked to overall autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or intellectual disability risk. However, higher TSH showed a potential association with ASD involving developmental regression, warranting further investigation into thyroid hormone impacts.

Area of Science:

  • Neurodevelopmental disorders
  • Endocrinology
  • Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

Background:

  • Untreated congenital hypothyroidism can lead to adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes, including intellectual disability (ID).
  • The specific role of neonatal thyroid hormone insufficiency in the neurobiology of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and its subphenotypes remains underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between neonatal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels and the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID).
  • To examine the relationship between neonatal TSH levels and specific ASD subphenotypes, including early-onset ASD and ASD with regression.

Main Methods:

  • A population-based case-control study was conducted using data from children born in Southern California between 2000 and 2003.
  • Neonatal TSH levels from routine newborn screening were analyzed for children diagnosed with ASD (n=518), ID (n=145), and general population controls (n=399).
  • Multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for continuous (ln-transformed) and quartile-based TSH levels.

Main Results:

  • No significant association was found between continuous neonatal TSH levels and the overall risk of ASD (adj-OR: 1.00) or ID (adj-OR: 1.01).
  • Among ASD subphenotypes, a suggestive inverse trend was observed between ASD with regression and neonatal TSH levels.
  • This trend reached statistical significance in the highest TSH quartile for ASD with regression (adj-OR: 0.50), indicating a potential protective association.

Conclusions:

  • Neonatal TSH levels do not appear to be associated with the overall risk of developing ASD or ID.
  • A potential inverse association between higher neonatal TSH and ASD with regression suggests a possible role for thyroid hormones in specific ASD subtypes.
  • Further research is necessary to elucidate the complex relationship between thyroid hormone function and the diverse neurobiological pathways underlying ASD subphenotypes.

Keywords:
ASDautismintellectual disabilityneonatalthyroidthyroid-stimulating hormone

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