New Research Targets Role of Parental Obesity in Autism Spectrum Disorders

A study examining the link between parental body mass index (BMI) and
autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) has reportedly claimed that paternal
obesity “is an independent risk factor for ASDs in children.” Pal Suren, et al.,
“Parental Obesity and Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorders,” Pediatrics, April
2014. Noting that previous research focused only on the role of maternal
pre-pregnancy obesity in neurodevelopmental disorders, the study’s authors
relied on data from 92,909 children enrolled in the Norwegian Mother and
Child Study to estimate the relative risk of ASDs using logistic regression
models.

The results evidently showed that “maternal obesity (BMI ≥30) was only
weakly associated with ASD risk, whereas paternal obesity was associated
with an increased risk of autistic disorder and Asperger disorder.” In particular,
the study reported that (i) the risk of autistic disorder was 0.27 percent in
children of obese fathers and 0.14 percent in children of normal-weight
fathers, and (ii) the risk of Asperger disorder was 0.38 in children of obese
fathers and 0.18 percent in children of normal-weight fathers. These findings
also suggested that “a dose-response relationship may be present, so that
the risks of these [two] disorders increase by increasing paternal BMI,” raising
questions about the public health implications “if the associations were found
to have a causal relation.”

“We were very surprised by these findings because we expected that
maternal obesity would be the main risk factor for the development of ASD.
It means that we have had too much focus on the mother and too little on
the father,” the lead author was quoted as saying. “This probably reflects the
fact that we have given greater focus to conditions in pregnancy, such as the
growth environment for the fetus in the womb than both environmental and
genetic factors before conception.” See Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Press Release, April 7, 2014.

Issue 520