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Maternal Infection During Pregnancy and Autism Spectrum Disorders

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders volume 45, pages 4015–4025 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

We conducted a nested case–control study including 407 cases and 2,075 frequency matched controls to investigate the association between maternal infections during pregnancy and risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Cases, controls, and maternal infections were ascertained from Kaiser Permanente Northern California clinical databases. No overall association between diagnoses of any maternal infection during pregnancy and ASD was observed [adjusted odds ratio (ORadj) = 1.15, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.92–1.43]. However, women with infections diagnosed during a hospital admission (ORadj = 1.48, 95 % CI 1.07–2.04), particularly bacterial infections (ORadj = 1.58, 95 % CI 1.06–2.37), were at increased risk of delivering a child with ASD. Multiple infections during pregnancy were associated with ASD (ORadj = 1.36, 95 % CI 1.05–1.78).

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Kaht Dorward, MD, from the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco for her input on maternal infections during pregnancy. This study was funded by grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (U10/CCU920392), the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute, and Autism Speaks.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, 2000 Broadway, Oakland, CA, 94612, USA

    Ousseny Zerbo, Yinge Qian, Cathleen Yoshida & Lisa A. Croen

  2. Richmond, CA, USA

    Judith K. Grether

  3. Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    Judy Van de Water

  4. The M.I.N.D. Institute, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    Judy Van de Water

  5. The NIEHS Center for Children’s Environmental Health, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Judy Van de Water

Authors
  1. Ousseny Zerbo
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  2. Yinge Qian
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  3. Cathleen Yoshida
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  4. Judith K. Grether
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  5. Judy Van de Water
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  6. Lisa A. Croen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ousseny Zerbo.

Additional information

Judith K. Grether was formerly with Environmental Health Investigations Branch, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, CA, 94804, USA.

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Zerbo, O., Qian, Y., Yoshida, C. et al. Maternal Infection During Pregnancy and Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 45, 4015–4025 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-2016-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-2016-3

Keywords

  • Maternal infection
  • Pregnancy
  • Autism spectrum disorder