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The Association Between Maternal Asthma and Child Autism: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Renee van der Schaaf1,2, Vanessa E Murphy3,4, Soriah Harvey3,4
1School of Psychological Sciences, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
Summary
Maternal asthma during pregnancy is linked to a higher likelihood of child autism. This systematic review found an increased odds of autism in children whose mothers had asthma, especially when using medication.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Health
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Maternal asthma has been anecdotally linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children.
- Understanding this potential association is crucial for public health and early intervention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and meta-analyze observational studies investigating the association between maternal asthma during pregnancy and the risk of child autism.
- To quantify the odds of autism in children born to mothers with asthma, considering factors like medication use.
Main Methods:
- A systematic literature search was conducted across MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, and PsycINFO for studies published between July 2001 and February 2024.
- Nineteen observational studies (n=2,530,716) met inclusion criteria, with quality assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.
- Meta-analyses were performed using random-effects models to calculate odds ratios (OR) for child autism in relation to maternal asthma and medication use.
Main Results:
- Maternal asthma was associated with increased odds of child autism (OR=1.32; 95% CI=1.21, 1.44).
- Current asthma during pregnancy (OR=1.23; 95% CI=1.12, 1.35) and asthma medication use (OR=1.48; 95% CI=1.30, 1.68) also showed increased odds.
- No significant difference in autism odds was found between mothers using and not using asthma medication (OR=1.07; 95% CI=0.89, 1.27).
Conclusions:
- Maternal asthma during pregnancy is significantly associated with an increased risk of autism in children.
- Further research should explore parental neurodivergence, asthma severity, and medication effectiveness to elucidate this association.
- These findings highlight the importance of maternal health management during pregnancy for child neurodevelopmental outcomes.
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