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Perinatal and Obstetric Predictors for Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

The objective is to identify obstetric and perinatal factors that could be significant predictors of ASD and may lead to early detection and intervention. A population-based case–control study including 128 children diagnosed with ASD and 311 controls was conducted. Information was collected through self-reported questionnaires. The factors retained as significant predictors for ASD in the final adjusted hierarchical logistic regression model were cesarean section and male gender. The study revealed a higher incidence of cesarean sections and male gender in children with ASD in comparison to unaffected children confirming the results of previous studies. Children born by cesarean section, especially males, should be more closely monitored for the presence of ASD traits for early diagnosis and intervention.

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Acknowledgments

This study has been partly financed through Research Project SMI 19/2014 of the Regional Valencian Ministry of Health (Spain).

Funding

This study has been partly financed through research project SMI 19/2014 of the Conselleria de Sanitat Universal i Salut Pública (Comunitat Valenciana, Spain).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics, La Fe University Polytechnic Hospital, Av. de Fernando Abril Martorell No. 106, 46026, Valencia, Spain

    Alfredo Perales-Marín

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine and Odontology, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibáñez 15, 46010, Valencia, Spain

    Alfredo Perales-Marín

  3. Unit of Public Health, Hygiene and Environmental Health, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Food Science, Toxicology and Legal Medicine, School of Pharmacy, University of Valencia, Av. Vicente Andrés Estellés s/n, 46100, Burjasot, Valencia, Spain

    Isabel Peraita-Costa, Agustín Llopis-González, Salvador Marí-Bauset & María Morales-Suárez-Varela

  4. CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Av. Monforte de Lemos 3-5, Pavillion 11, Floor 0, 28029, Madrid, Spain

    Isabel Peraita-Costa, Agustín Llopis-González & María Morales-Suárez-Varela

  5. Department of Psychiatry, Dr, Peset University Hospital, Av. de Gaspar Aguilar 90, 46017, Valencia, Spain

    Pablo Cervera-Boada

  6. Department of Neuropediatrics, La Fe University Polytechnic Hospital, Av. de Fernando Abril Martorell No. 106, 46026, Valencia, Spain

    Montserrat Tellez de Meneses

Authors
  1. Alfredo Perales-Marín
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  2. Isabel Peraita-Costa
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  3. Pablo Cervera-Boada
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  4. Montserrat Tellez de Meneses
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  5. Agustín Llopis-González
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  6. Salvador Marí-Bauset
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  7. María Morales-Suárez-Varela
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Contributions

APM collaborated with the design and execution of the study and the editing of the final manuscript. IPC collaborated with the design of the study, the data analyses, the writing, and the editing of the final manuscript. PCB collaborated with the execution of the study and the editing of the final manuscript. MTM collaborated with the execution of the study and the editing of the final manuscript. ALG collaborated with the data analyses and the editing of the final manuscript. SMB collaborated with the data analyses and the editing of the final manuscript. MMSV collaborated with the design and execution of the study, the data analyses, the writing, and the editing of the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to María Morales-Suárez-Varela.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Research Involving Human Rights

The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the La Fe Hospital of Valencia (Spain) (Ref. 214/0479). The study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Perales-Marín, A., Peraita-Costa, I., Cervera-Boada, P. et al. Perinatal and Obstetric Predictors for Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 51, 3908–3916 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04846-0

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