A recent study found a correlation between "hospital-diagnosed" infections during pregnancy and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).
The researchers looked at 407 children who had been diagnosed with autism and 2,075 children; all of the study subjects were born between January 1995 and June 1999, a Kaiser Permanente news release reported.
"Though infections in pregnant women are fairly common, in this study most were not associated with an increased risk of autism," Lisa A. Croen, PhD, research scientist with the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research and senior author of the study said. "Only bacterial infections diagnosed in the hospital were associated with an increased risk."
"Infections diagnosed in a hospital setting were more common among mothers of children who developed an ASD compared with mothers of children who did not develop an ASD," Croen said.
The study found that women who were diagnosed with infections of the "genitals, urinary tract and amniotic fluid" among other had a 58 percent greater chance of having a child that developed ASD. In the study only 1.5 percent of the participants who had children with ASD contracted infections during their pregnancy;but women who were diagnosed with an infection while hospitalized during their second trimester were around three times more likely to have a child with ASD.
"Infections diagnosed in an inpatient setting may represent more severe infections, and these were associated with increased risk of ASD," Ousseny Zerbo, PhD, research fellow with the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research and the study's lead author, said.
The reason behind why maternal infections increase autism risk is not yet known. Past studies on mice have linked immune system responses to maternal infections with neurological development problems in affected offspring.
"Our findings indicate that although most infections during pregnancy were not associated with autism in the child, there appears to be some increased risk for autism," Zerbo said. "It would be prudent for pregnant women to contact their doctor if they suspect an infection."
