Author Interviews, Autism, Pediatrics / 14.02.2025
NYU Study Finds No Link Between Maternal Illness and Autism
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Magdalena Janecka PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Associate Professor, Department of Population Health
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Several earlier studies have indicated that certain maternal conditions in pregnancy – for example, depression or obesity - are associated with higher rates of autism in offspring. However, the majority of the conditions females experience during pregnancy have not been investigated in the context of autism before. Additionally, while the evidence that these associations are likely not causal existed for a few maternal diagnoses, it was not clear whether this applies to just a few associations that have been examined or is more widespread.
Our study investigated the association between all maternal conditions in pregnancy (provided they were common enough to allow us to estimate their effects) and the likelihood of autism in the child. Then, for the significant associations, we tested whether these associations seemed causal, or whether they were instead attributable to other confounding factors. Confounders are other variables that can influence the relationship between the variables in a study, for example maternal health and autism. Factors shared by family members, i.e. familial factors (e.g., genetics) are common confounders in studies like ours, and are particularly difficult to account for.
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