Maternal and Paternal Age and Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Advanced maternal and paternal ages are independently associated with ASD risk.

The association between the interpregnancy interval and autism spectrum disorder in a Canadian cohort

“…6,7 Separate logistic regression models were fit for each case group to estimate crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for ASD in the second-born children, using the same comparison group in each model. A priori, we decided to include the following covariates in the models due to previously documented associations with ASD: child's sex, birth year (we mean-centered this variable and created a quadratic term to account for birth year's non-linear association with ASD in our cohort), and presence of an intellectual disability (defined as a "Multiple Handicaps" special needs code in the Education data, or the presence of various diagnostic codes in the Medical Services or Hospital Discharge Abstracts databases 18 ), as well as maternal age at delivery (<30, 30-34, ≥35 years [19][20][21] ) and whether the mother had ever received income assistance. In a supplementary analysis, we added product terms to the regression models to explore whether certain factors interacted with the IPI to modify the association.…”

Autism Spectrum Disorders and Communication Disorders: Influences of Advanced Parental Age and Use of Assisted Reproductive Technology

“…Advanced maternal and paternal age (i.e., 35 and over) at the time of conception has also been implicated with associated genetic Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s41252-017-0006-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. mutations and high heritability of such mutations (see Croen et al 2007;Sandin et al 2016). Other risk factors of ASD studied include, but are not limited to, (genetic) causes of infertility, socioeconomic status, and perinatal risk factors such as preterm labor and low birth weight, (e.g., Giza et al 2010;Kong et al 2012;Leavy et al 2013;Leslie 2004;Shimada et al 2012;Schieve et al 2014;Vierck and Silverman 2015).…”

“…Other risk factors of ASD studied include, but are not limited to, (genetic) causes of infertility, socioeconomic status, and perinatal risk factors such as preterm labor and low birth weight, (e.g., Giza et al 2010;Kong et al 2012;Leavy et al 2013;Leslie 2004;Shimada et al 2012;Schieve et al 2014;Vierck and Silverman 2015). Many researchers studying ASD epidemiology agree that a combination of environmental and genetic risk factors likely contributes to the increased incidence of ASD (see Chaste and Leboyer 2012;Croen et al 2007;Hallmayer et al 2011;Kong et al 2012). Although past research has not considered ART use specifically as a risk factor for CD, research does suggest that parental age, particularly maternal age, and other pre-, peri-, and post-natal variables (e.g., prematurity, congenital disorders and syndromes, many of which have been associated with ART use, e.g., Lu et al 2013), are risks for various CDs (e.g., Hyrapetian et al 2014;Silva et al 2013).…”

“…Studies suggest that parental age at the time of conception or birth increases the risk of a child being diagnosed with ASD and other communication and neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., Croen et al 2007;Durkin et al 2008;Frans et al 2013;Grether et al 2009;Hultman et al 2011;King et al 2009;Lundstrom et al 2010;Merikangas et al 2016;Reichenberg et al 2006;Sandin et al 2012Sandin et al , 2016Saha et al 2009;van Balkom et al 2012;Weiser et al 2008). In particular, advanced paternal age has been implicated in a higher risk of having a child with ASD (e.g., Shimada et al 2012), and both younger and older mothers have an increased risk for having a child with a CD (Silva et al 2013).…”

“…In particular, advanced paternal age has been implicated in a higher risk of having a child with ASD (e.g., Shimada et al 2012), and both younger and older mothers have an increased risk for having a child with a CD (Silva et al 2013). Despite the documented increased risks to both mother and baby associated with pregnancy at an advanced maternal age (e.g., Croen et al 2007;Mills and Lavender 2011;Sandin et al 2012), women in developed countries are delaying the start of their families until their late 30s and early 40s. This is likely due to social and economic factors, education, and/or employment obligations (McMahon et al 2011).…”