Skip to main content
Log in

Early Second Trimester Maternal Serum Steroid-Related Biomarkers Associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder

  • Origina lPaper
  • Published:
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

A Correction to this article was published on 03 September 2019

This article has been updated

Abstract

Epidemiologic studies link increased autism spectrum disorder (ASD) risk to obstetrical conditions associated with inflammation and steroid dysregulation, referred to as prenatal metabolic syndrome (PNMS). This pilot study measured steroid-related biomarkers in early second trimester maternal serum collected during the first and second trimester evaluation of risk study. ASD case and PNMS exposure status of index offspring were determined through linkage with autism registries and birth certificate records. ASD case (N = 53) and control (N = 19) groups were enriched for PNMS exposure. Higher estradiol and lower sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) were significantly associated with increased ASD risk. Study findings provide preliminary evidence to link greater placental estradiol activity with ASD and support future investigations of the prenatal steroid environment in ASD.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Change history

  • 03 September 2019

    The original version of the article has been published without funding source information.

References

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank the Utah FASTER study participants whose contributions were essential for the success of this study. We appreciate the unique collaboration provided across the University of Utah, Intermountain Healthcare, Utah Registry of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Utah Department of Health, Utah State Board of Education, and the Pedigree and Population Resource (funded by the Huntsman and Intermountain Healthcare Cancer Foundation).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

DBA and AVB designed and performed the research, analyzed data, and wrote the manuscript with input from other authors. MSE, EASC, KRS and AF designed and performed the research. PB and KC designed and performed the research and completed serum analyses. HC designed and performed the research and analyzed the data. TR and WW designed and performed the research and wrote the manuscript with input from the other authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Deborah A. Bilder.

Ethics declarations

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Utah Registry of Autism and Developmental Disabilities Oversight Committee, Utah State Office of Education, and the Institutional Review Boards of the University of Utah, Intermountain Healthcare, Utah Department of Health, and Resource for Genetic and Epidemiologic Research Review Committee, which is an oversight body that regulates Utah Population Database access and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Dr. Rayner is now completing his psychiatry residency at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 118 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bilder, D.A., Esplin, M.S., Coon, H. et al. Early Second Trimester Maternal Serum Steroid-Related Biomarkers Associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 49, 4572–4583 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04162-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04162-2

Keywords

Navigation