Perinatal and maternal risk factors for autism spectrum disorders in New South Wales, Australia

Abstract

Replication of risk factors from previous studies and a significant risk factor 'dose' effect add to growing evidence that maternal and perinatal factors are low magnitude risk factors for autism. The association between developmental disability and autism risk factors warrants further examination.

Extremely Preterm Born Children at Very High Risk for Developing Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Studies also suggest a link between extreme prematurity and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), characterised by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction, and restrictive and repetitive patterns of behaviours, interests or activities (10). Prematurity and low birth weight are considered to be risk factors for ASD (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17). Two recent studies even found a gradual increased risk of traits of ASD with shorter gestation (18,19).…”

Screening for autism spectrum disorder in very preterm infants during early childhood

“…This data needs to be treated with caution as it is unknown whether or not these families were multilingual, which may have influenced the results. However, in an Australian study, mothers' country of birth being outside Australia was found to be a risk factor for autism [34].…”

Environmental factors associated with autism spectrum disorder: a scoping review for the years 2003–2013

“…Multiple births have been associated with ASD according to a meta-analysis 157 as well as a cohort study, 176 whereas an ecological study did not find an association.…”