Perinatal Factors in Newborn Are Insidious Risk Factors for Childhood Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Population-based Study

Lee, Inn-Chi; Wang, Yu-Hsun; Chiou, Jeng-Yuan; Wei, James Cheng-Chung

doi:10.1007/s10803-021-04921-0

Original Paper
Published: 24 February 2021

Perinatal Factors in Newborn Are Insidious Risk Factors for Childhood Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Population-based Study

Inn-Chi Lee ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9192-8848^1,2,
Yu-Hsun Wang³,
Jeng-Yuan Chiou⁴ &
James Cheng-Chung Wei^5,6

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders volume 52, pages 52–60 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

We analyzed claims data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance database, which contains data of 23.5 million Taiwan residents. We included children born after January 1, 2000 who had received a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Patients who were not diagnosed with ASD were included in the control group. The ASD prevalence was 517 in 62,051 (0.83%) children. Neonatal jaundice, hypoglycemia, intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), and craniofacial anomalies (CFA) differed significantly between the ASD and control groups. After logistic regressive analysis, the adjusted odds ratios of IUGR, CFA, neonatal hypoglycemia, and neonatal jaundice were 8.58, 7.37, 3.83, and 1.32, respectively. Those insidiously perinatal risk factors, namely CFA, IUGR, neonatal hypoglycemia, and neonatal jaundice, could increase the risk of ASD.

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Acknowledgments

We thank everyone who participated in the present project. This work was supported by Grant by Chung Shan Medical University Hospital Grants (CSH-2021-C-012 and CSH-2015-A-009).

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Affiliations

Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
Inn-Chi Lee
Institute of Medicine, School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
Inn-Chi Lee
Department of Medical Research, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
Yu-Hsun Wang
School of Health Policy and Management, Chung Shan Medical University, No.110, Sec.1, Jianguo N. Rd, Taichung City, 40201, Taiwan
Jeng-Yuan Chiou
Department of Allergy, Immunology & Rheumatology, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital and Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
James Cheng-Chung Wei
Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, No. 110, Sec. 1, Jianguo N. Rd., South District, Taichung City, 40201, Taiwan
James Cheng-Chung Wei

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Inn-Chi Lee
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Yu-Hsun Wang
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Jeng-Yuan Chiou
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James Cheng-Chung Wei
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Correspondence to Jeng-Yuan Chiou or James Cheng-Chung Wei.

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Lee, IC., Wang, YH., Chiou, JY. et al. Perinatal Factors in Newborn Are Insidious Risk Factors for Childhood Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Population-based Study. J Autism Dev Disord 52, 52–60 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-04921-0

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Accepted: 10 February 2021
Published: 24 February 2021
Issue Date: January 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-04921-0

Keywords

Autism
Craniofacial anomalies
Neonatal jaundice
Hypoglycemia
Intrauterine growth retardation