Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

, Volume 41, Issue 1, pp 122–129 | Cite as

Brief Report: A Preliminary Study of Fetal Head Circumference Growth in Autism Spectrum Disorder

  • Andrew J. O. Whitehouse
  • Martha Hickey
  • Fiona J. Stanley
  • John P. Newnham
  • Craig E. Pennell
Brief Report
First Online:

Abstract

Fetal head circumference (HC) growth was examined prospectively in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD participants (N = 14) were each matched with four control participants (N = 56) on a range of parameters known to influence fetal growth. HC was measured using ultrasonography at approximately 18 weeks gestation and again at birth using a paper tape-measure. Overall body size was indexed by fetal femur-length and birth length. There was no between-groups difference in head circumference at either time-point. While a small number of children with ASD had disproportionately large head circumference relative to body size at both time-points, the between-groups difference did not reach statistical significance in this small sample. These preliminary findings suggest that further investigation of fetal growth in ASD is warranted.

Keywords

Autism spectrum disorder Brain growth Head circumference Fetus Ultrasound 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

The Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study has been funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NH&MRC), The Raine Medical Research Foundation, The Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, and the Women’s and Infants’ Research Foundation. The authors are extremely grateful to these funders as well as to all of the families who took part in this study and the whole Raine Study team, which includes data collectors, cohort managers, data managers, clerical staff, research scientists and volunteers. The authors also acknowledge Emma Whitehouse and Dorothy Bishop, who made helpful comments on a previous version of this manuscript.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010

Authors and Affiliations

  • Andrew J. O. Whitehouse
    • 1
    • 2
  • Martha Hickey
    • 3
  • Fiona J. Stanley
    • 1
  • John P. Newnham
    • 3
  • Craig E. Pennell
    • 1
    • 3
  1. 1.Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Centre for Child Health ResearchUniversity of Western AustraliaPerthAustralia
  2. 2.Neurocognitive Development Unit, School of PsychologyUniversity of Western AustraliaPerthAustralia
  3. 3.School of Women’s and Infants’ HealthUniversity of Western AustraliaPerthAustralia

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