Healthy Prenatal Dietary Pattern and Offspring Autism

Area of Science:

• Epidemiology
• Nutritional Science
• Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Background:

• Prenatal diet's role in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is suggested but lacks robust evidence due to small, retrospective studies.
• Inconsistent findings highlight the need for large, prospective research to clarify associations between maternal diet and ASD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between prenatal dietary patterns and autism diagnosis in two large, prospective birth cohorts.
• To investigate associations between maternal diet during pregnancy and autism-associated traits, including social communication difficulties and repetitive behaviors.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC).
• Included singleton pregnancies with self-reported dietary data via food frequency questionnaires.
• Analyzed offspring outcomes including autism diagnosis and social communication scores up to age 8 years using generalized nonlinear models.

Main Results:

• High adherence to a healthy prenatal dietary pattern was associated with reduced odds of autism diagnosis (OR, 0.78) and social communication difficulties in children.
• Specific associations were observed for autism diagnosis in MoBa and social communication difficulties in both MoBa and ALSPAC.
• No consistent association was found between a healthy prenatal diet and restrictive or repetitive behaviors.

Conclusions:

• Adherence to a healthy prenatal dietary pattern is associated with a lower likelihood of autism diagnosis and social communication difficulties.
• These findings underscore the potential impact of maternal nutrition on child neurodevelopment.
• Further research may explore specific dietary components and their influence on autism-related traits.