Maternal Exposures Associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Jamaican Children

Christian, MacKinsey K.A.; Samms‐Vaughan, Maureen; Lee, Minjae; Bressler, Jan; Hessabi, Manouchehr; Grove, Megan L.; Shakespeare-Pellington, Sydonnie; Desai, Charlene Coore; Reece, Jody Ann; Loveland, Katherine A.; Boerwinkle, Eric; Rahbar, Mohammad Hossein

doi:10.1007/s10803-018-3537-6

Cited by 26 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 71 publications

(109 reference statements)

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“…This suggests that all studies of breastfeeding initiation should attempt to control for at least these variables. Our finding was different from those reported by Christian et al [], Nishijo et al [], and Shamberger []; and partially different from the meta‐analysis by Tseng et al []. In their meta‐analysis, Tseng et al [] reported an overall significantly lower initiation of breastfeeding in mothers of children with ASD compared to controls.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…Other studies have found no associations between ASD and breastfeeding initiation or duration [Burd, Kerbeshian, Vesely, Durgin, & Reep, ; Christian et al, ; Fernandes, ; Gore, Emerson, & Brady, ; Husk & Keim, ; Tanoue & Oda, ]. In a large and nationally representative sample, Husk and Keim [] found no association between breastfeeding and ASD after adjusting for child and family characteristics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

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Association Between Breastfeeding Initiation and Duration and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Preschool Children Enrolled in the Study to Explore Early Development

et al. 2019

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Studies report inconsistent findings on the relationship between ASD and breastfeeding. We explored associations between ASD and breastfeeding initiation (yes/no) and duration (months categorized in tertiles) in the Study to Explore Early Development, a community-based case-control study in six sites in the Unites States. We adjusted for various child and mother demographic and pregnancy factors. Breastfeeding initiation was reported in 85.7% of mothers of children with ASD and 90.6% of mothers of controls. After adjustment, we found no significant difference in breastfeeding initiation (adjusted odds-ratio [aOR]: 0.88 and 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.60-1.28). However, mothers of children with ASD were less likely to report duration of breastfeeding in the high (≥12 months) versus low tertile (<6 months) (aOR and 95% CI: 0.61 [0.45-0.84]) or the middle (6-<12 months) versus low tertile (0.72: 0.54-0.98). The association of ASD and breastfeeding duration was slightly attenuated when the presence of the broader autism phenotype (BAP) in the mother was accounted for, but still remained for the highest tertile. This association does not appear to be totally explained by maternal BAP. We were unable to distinguish whether the difference in duration was due to difficulties breastfeeding children who later develop ASD, other factors not adjusted in our study, or greater ASD risk resulting from shorter breastfeeding duration. Longitudinal studies that compare reasons why mothers stop breastfeeding between ASD and controls and establish a temporal relation between ASD and breastfeeding are needed. Future studies should also evaluate interactions between ASD risk genes and breastfeeding. Autism Res 2019, 12: 816-829.Lay Summary: In this study, we compared breastfeeding practices between mothers of children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We found that the percentage of mothers who started breastfeeding was similar between the two groups, but mothers of children with ASD breastfed for a shorter amount of time compared to mothers of children without ASD. Future studies are needed to evaluate the reasons why the duration of breastfeeding was shorter for mothers of children with ASD compared to those without ASD.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Association Between Breastfeeding Initiation and Duration and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Preschool Children Enrolled in the Study to Explore Early Development

et al. 2019

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“…The vertical transmission of maternal immune and endocrine markers is increasingly recognized to modulate fetal neurodevelopment and future mental health of the offspring. Emerging evidence arising from observational studies in humans reveals that prenatal environmental challenges such as maternal distress perception and infections are associated with an impaired fetal neurodevelopment and increased risk for neurological or psychiatric disorders later in life ( 1 – 6 ). Insights into the underlying mechanisms and pathogenesis of prenatally programmed poor mental health are increasingly emerging.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Besides high stress perception, maternal infection during pregnancy can interfere with fetal neurodevelopment and increase the risk for neurological dysfunctions and psychiatric disorders in the offspring (Table 2 ). Here, most of the studies focus on the distinct pathogens that have led to maternal infection during pregnancy ( 1 , 35 , 37 , 42 , 43 ). For example, maternal infection with influenza A or B virus has been associated with an increased risk for developing schizophrenia, although findings between studies are highly ambiguous and hence, hotly debated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prenatal Immune and Endocrine Modulators of Offspring's Brain Development and Cognitive Functions Later in Life

et al. 2018

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Milestones of brain development in mammals are completed before birth, which provide the prerequisite for cognitive and intellectual performances of the offspring. Prenatal challenges, such as maternal stress experience or infections, have been linked to impaired cognitive development, poor intellectual performances as well as neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in the offspring later in life. Fetal microglial cells may be the target of such challenges and could be functionally modified by maternal markers. Maternal markers can cross the placenta and reach the fetus, a phenomenon commonly referred to as “vertical transfer.” These maternal markers include hormones, such as glucocorticoids, and also maternal immune cells and cytokines, all of which can be altered in response to prenatal challenges. Whilst it is difficult to discriminate between the maternal or fetal origin of glucocorticoids and cytokines in the offspring, immune cells of maternal origin—although low in frequency—can be clearly set apart from offspring's cells in the fetal and adult brain. To date, insights into the functional role of these cells are limited, but it is emergingly recognized that these maternal microchimeric cells may affect fetal brain development, as well as post-natal cognitive performances and behavior. Moreover, the inheritance of vertically transferred cells across generations has been proposed, yielding to the presence of a microchiome in individuals. Hence, it will be one of the scientific challenges in the field of neuroimmunology to identify the functional role of maternal microchimeric cells as well as the brain microchiome. Maternal microchimeric cells, along with hormones and cytokines, may induce epigenetic changes in the fetal brain. Recent data underpin that brain development in response to prenatal stress challenges can be altered across several generations, independent of a genetic predisposition, supporting an epigenetic inheritance. We here discuss how fetal brain development and offspring's cognitive functions later in life is modulated in the turnstile of prenatal challenges by introducing novel and recently emerging pathway, involving maternal hormones and immune markers.

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“…The developmental stones underlying brain development in humans are highly susceptible to adverse effects and can be modulated by maternal markers transferred vertically during pregnancy. Observational studies show that prenatal adverse environmental effects, such as maternal stress and infections affect fetal neurodevelopment and increase the risk for neurological or psychiatric disorders in future life [4][5][6][7]. Degradation of neurodevelopmental pathways may affect cognitive and mental disorders, as well as affect future brain function and increase the risk of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in later life [8].…”

Section: Microchimerism Physiopathologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Pregnancy-related microchimerism unknown pathophysiological effects

Davies¹,

Demırhan²

2019

Front Womens Healt

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Maternal Exposures Associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Jamaican Children

Cited by 26 publications

References 71 publications

Association Between Breastfeeding Initiation and Duration and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Preschool Children Enrolled in the Study to Explore Early Development

Association Between Breastfeeding Initiation and Duration and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Preschool Children Enrolled in the Study to Explore Early Development

Prenatal Immune and Endocrine Modulators of Offspring's Brain Development and Cognitive Functions Later in Life

Pregnancy-related microchimerism unknown pathophysiological effects

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