Depression isn't the only mental health factor that can influence pregnancy outcomes. High levels of stress during pregnancy may also be connected to autism in children. This connection appears to have the most impact when the parent experiences stress between weeks 25 and 28 of pregnancy.
Two such factors that have been associated with a significant proportion of ASD risk are prenatal stress exposure and maternal immune dysregulation.
High levels of stress that continue for a long time may cause health problems, like high blood pressure and heart disease. During pregnancy, stress can increase the chances of having a baby who is preterm (born before 37 weeks of pregnancy) or a low-birthweight baby (weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces).
Since autism is less prevalent in females, autism was always thought to be passed down from the mother. However, research suggests that autism genes are usually inherited from the father. One of the most common questions asked by parents of children with autism is which parent carries the autism gene.
Advanced parental age at time of conception. Prenatal exposure to air pollution or certain pesticides. Maternal obesity, diabetes, or immune system disorders. Extreme prematurity or very low birth weight.
There are many different factors that have been identified that may make a child more likely to have ASD, including environmental, biologic, and genetic factors.
Because proliferation of cortical neurons is exponential between 10 and 20 weeks of gestation[68, 69] and does not occur postnatal, pathological neuron excess shows that neuropathology of ASD has a prenatal origin, likely by the 1st or 2nd trimester.
Autism Prevalence
In 2023, the CDC reported that approximately 1 in 36 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to 2020 data. Boys are four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls.
Having a family health history of ASD makes you more likely to have a child with ASD, or to have ASD yourself. If you have a child with ASD, you are more likely to have another child with ASD, especially if you have a daughter with ASD or more than one child with ASD.
Autism was always thought to have a maternal inheritance component, however, research suggests that the rarer variants associated with the disorder are usually inherited from the father.
If you start to experience symptoms you can't shake (like feeling worried all the time, losing interest in your life, feeling hopeless, sleeping or eating more or less than usual, or having difficulty concentrating), you should let your doctor know.
In a follow-up across pregnancy, the fetuses of the high-anger women were noted to be more active and to experience growth delays. The high-anger mothers' high prenatal cortisol and adrenaline and low dopamine and serotonin levels were mimicked by their neonates' high cortisol and low dopamine levels.
Maternal stress has been associated with poor birth outcomes including preterm birth, infant mortality and low birthweight. Stress results in increases in cortisol, norepinephrine and inflammation which affect the fetal environment and have implications for maternal and infant health.
Large-scale studies have found that exposure to harmful environmental factors, including maternal disease and drug abuse, air pollution exposure, family life behaviors, and metal exposure during the intrauterine period and early life stages of development may play a key role in ASD development, in addition to other ...
Some genetic mutations seem to be inherited, while others occur spontaneously. Environmental factors. Researchers are currently exploring whether factors such as viral infections, medications or complications during pregnancy, or air pollutants play a role in triggering autism spectrum disorder.
Children with an autistic parent or sibling have 9 times the usual odds of autism and 4.1 times the odds of having autism with intellectual disability.
In the United States, prenatal genetic testing (PGT) for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is currently available via clinical genetic services. Such testing may inform parents about their unborn child's risk for ASD, prepare parents for the birth of an affected infant, and allow them to arrange for early interventions.
A routine prenatal ultrasound can identify early signs of autism, study finds. Summary: A routine prenatal ultrasound in the second trimester can identify early signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a new study has found.
Inheritance. ASD has a tendency to run in families, but the inheritance pattern is usually unknown. People with gene changes associated with ASD generally inherit an increased risk of developing the condition, rather than the condition itself.
At the same time, firstborn children also showed an increased incidence — 30 percent more than second-borns and 70 percent more than those born third or later.
The results of studies vary from 5 to 400 percent. One 2017 study based on whole-genome sequencing of nearly 5,000 people suggests that parents in their mid-40s are 5 to 10 percent more likely to have a child with autism than are 20-year-old parents.
They also noted that autism was most associated with anomalies in the urinary system, heart, head, and brain. They further found that those with autism tended to have a narrower head and a relatively wider ocular distance compared to typically developing fetuses.
High amounts of sugar in a diet are not good for anyone but especially children with autism. It is common for children with autism to show signs of hyperactivity so limiting sugar can help to balance this out. Also, limiting sugar can help to improve concentration and decrease impulsiveness.
Advances in diagnostic capabilities and greater understanding and awareness of autism spectrum disorder seem to be largely driving the increase, the Rutgers researchers said. But there's probably more to the story: Genetic factors, and perhaps some environmental ones, too, might also be contributing to the trend.