Prenatal Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Fetal Cortisol Exposure Predicts Child ASD Symptoms

Publication Date

3-2019

Document Type

Article

Organizational Units

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Psychology

Keywords

Prenatal, Pregnancy, Cortisol, Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, Caregiver stress, Open data

Abstract

The etiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is multifactorial, complex, and likely involves interactions among genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors. With respect to environmental influences, a growing literature implicates intrauterine experiences in the origin of this pervasive developmental disorder. In this prospective longitudinal study, we examined the hypothesis that fetal exposure to maternal cortisol may confer ASD risk. In addition, because ASD is four times more prevalent in males than in females, and because sexually dimorphic responses to intrauterine experiences are commonly observed, we examined whether or not any associations differ by fetal sex. Maternal plasma cortisol was measured at 15, 19, 25, 31, and 37 weeks’ gestation in a sample of 84 pregnant women. ASD symptoms were assessed in their 5-year-old children with the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ). Fetal exposure to lower levels of maternal cortisol was associated with higher levels of ASD symptoms only among boys. The observed hypocortisolemic profile exhibited by these mothers may indicate a risk factor that precedes the stress of caregiving for a child with ASD and may not be solely a consequence of the stress of caregiving, as previously thought. These findings confirm the value of examining prenatal hormone exposures as predictors of ASD risk and support the premise that altered prenatal steroid exposures may play a role in the etiology of ASD.

Copyright Date

12-20-2018

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the authors and Sage Publications. User is responsible for all copyright compliance. This article was originally published as:

Ram, S., Howland, M. A., Sandman, C. A., Davis, E. P., & Glynn, L. M. (2019). Prenatal risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD): Fetal cortisol exposure predicts child ASD symptoms. Clinical Psychological Science, 7(2), 349-361. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702618811079

Rights Holder

Sheena Ram, Mariann A. Howland, Curt A. Sandman, Elysia Poggi Davis, Laura M. Glynn, and Sage Publications

Provenance

Received from CHORUS

Language

English (eng)

Publication Title

Clinical Psychological Science

Volume

7

Issue

2

First Page

349

Last Page

361

ISSN

2167-7034

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