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The Association Between Autism Spectrum Disorders and Congenital Anomalies by Organ Systems in a Finnish National Birth Cohort

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between autism spectrum disorders (ASD) with and without intellectual disability (ID) and congenital anomalies (CAs) by organ system. The sample included all children diagnosed with ASD (n = 4441) from the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register during 1987–2000 and a total of four controls per case (n = 17,695). CAs of the eye, central nervous system, and specific craniofacial anomalies were most strongly associated with ASD. Children with ASD and co-occurring ID were more likely to have CAs compared to ASD children without ID. The results suggest that some cases of ASD may originate during organogenesis, in the early first trimester of pregnancy. The results of this study may be useful for identifying prenatal etiological factors and elucidating the molecular pathogenesis of ASD.

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Abbreviations

ASD:

Autism spectrum disorders

CAs:

Congenital anomalies

FHDR:

Finnish Hospital Discharge Register

FIPS-A:

Finnish Prenatal Study of Autism

FMBR:

Finnish Medical Birth Register

FRCM:

Finnish Registry of Congenital Malformations

ID:

Intellectual disability

MCA:

Major congenital anomaly

PIC:

Personal identity code

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from Sigrid Juselius Foundation, Finland (A. Sourander), Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation (A. Sourander), National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences RO1 ES 019004, USA (A.S. Brown), National Institute of Mental Health KO2 MH 65422, USA (A.S. Brown), Finnish Brain Foundation/Child Psychiatry, Finland (L. Timonen-Soivio), Arvo Ylppö Foundation, Finland (L. Timonen-Soivio). None of the funding sources played a role in the conduct of the research. We would like to thank the colleagues at the Department of Child Psychiatry at the University of Turku.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child Psychiatry, University of Turku and Turku University Central Hospital, Turku, Finland

    Laura Timonen-Soivio, Andre Sourander, Heli Malm, Susanna Hinkka-Yli-Salomäki & Mika Gissler

  2. Department of Child Neurology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland

    Laura Timonen-Soivio & Raija Vanhala

  3. Department of Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Andre Sourander & Alan Brown

  4. Teratology Information Service, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland

    Heli Malm

  5. Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Helsinki University and Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland

    Heli Malm

  6. Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Alan Brown

  7. National Institute of Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland

    Mika Gissler

  8. Nordic School of Public Health, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Mika Gissler

Authors
  1. Laura Timonen-Soivio
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  2. Andre Sourander
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  4. Susanna Hinkka-Yli-Salomäki
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  5. Mika Gissler
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  6. Alan Brown
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  7. Raija Vanhala
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Correspondence to Laura Timonen-Soivio.

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Timonen-Soivio, L., Sourander, A., Malm, H. et al. The Association Between Autism Spectrum Disorders and Congenital Anomalies by Organ Systems in a Finnish National Birth Cohort. J Autism Dev Disord 45, 3195–3203 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2477-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2477-7

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