Maternal Metabolic Conditions Allegedly Tied to Increased Autism Risk

Researchers with the Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (MIND) Institute at the University of California, Davis, have published a study claiming that maternal metabolic conditions (MCs) during pregnancy “may be broadly associated” with neurodevelopment problems, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), in children. Paula Krakowiak, et al., “Maternal Metabolic Conditions and Risk for Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders,” Pediatrics, April 2012. The authors apparently analyzed data from children ages 2-5 years enrolled in the Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE) study, focusing on 517 children diagnosed with ASD, 172 with developmental delays (DD) and 315 controls.

The results evidently suggested that not only were diabetes, hypertension and obesity “more common among mothers of children with ASD and DD compared with controls,” but mothers with obesity “were 67 percent more likely to have a child with ASD than normal-weight mothers without diabetes or hypertension, and were more than twice as likely to have a child with another developmental disorder,” according to an April 8, 2012, MIND Institute press release. In addition, the authors noted that “[a]mong children without ASD, MCs collectively were associated with impairments in visual reception, motor skills, and receptive and expressive language, as well as adaptive communication and socialization.”

“Over a third of U.S. women in their childbearing years are obese, and nearly one-tenth have gestational or type 2 diabetes during pregnancy. Our finding that these maternal conditions may be linked with neurodevelopmental problems in children raises concerns and therefore may have serious public-health implications,” said lead author Paula Krakowiak. “And while the study does not conclude that diabetes and obesity cause ASD and developmental delays, it suggests that fetal exposure to elevated glucose and maternal inflammation levels adversely affect fetal development.”