Perinatal Factors in Newborn Are Insidious Risk Factors for Childhood Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Population-based...

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Neurodevelopmental Disorders
• Public Health

Background:

• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition.
• Identifying early risk factors is crucial for timely intervention and understanding etiology.
• Taiwan's National Health Insurance database offers a robust platform for large-scale epidemiological studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between specific perinatal conditions and the risk of developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
• To quantify the risk posed by neonatal jaundice, hypoglycemia, intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), and craniofacial anomalies (CFA) in children diagnosed with ASD.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of claims data from Taiwan's National Health Insurance database, encompassing 23.5 million residents.
• Inclusion of children born after January 1, 2000, diagnosed with ASD (cases) and a control group without ASD.
• Logistic regression analysis to determine adjusted odds ratios for identified perinatal risk factors.

Main Results:

• ASD prevalence was found to be 0.83% (517 in 62,051 children).
• Significant differences in the prevalence of neonatal jaundice, hypoglycemia, IUGR, and CFA were observed between ASD and control groups.
• Adjusted odds ratios indicated substantial increased risks for IUGR (8.58), CFA (7.37), neonatal hypoglycemia (3.83), and neonatal jaundice (1.32).

Conclusions:

• Perinatal factors including CFA, IUGR, neonatal hypoglycemia, and neonatal jaundice are significant risk factors for ASD.
• These findings highlight the importance of monitoring and managing these conditions during the perinatal period to potentially mitigate ASD risk.
• The study underscores the value of large-scale health insurance data in identifying critical associations in neurodevelopmental disorders.