Supervisors info:
Παπανικολάου Αικατερίνη, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ, Επιβλέπουσα
Κολαΐτης Γεράσιμος, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Σιαχανίδου Σουλτάνα, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
Introduction: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is regarded as the most common neurodevelopmental disorder and the global prevalence has been estimated to be at 1 - 2 %. Though, the etiology of the disorder is under investigation, there is some evidence that genetic factors interact with a lot of environmental factors. The most often mentioned factors are gestational diabetes, obesity during pregnancy, intrauterine infections, use of drugs, complications of delivery, prematurity and low birth weight. Additionally, several studies report that children with ASD had an adverse perinatal history and more severe symptoms or mental retardation.
Aim: The aim of the study is to investigate the most significant perinatal factors at ASD and their association with the severity of autistic symptoms and IQ.
Method: For this purpose we examined the file records of 449 children with ASD, 1-15 years old, assessed at the Outpatient ASD Clinic of the Department of Child Psychiatry, Athens University Medical School, ‘‘Aghia Sophia’’ Children’s Hospital. The perinatal factors were derived from the birth histories, whereas the IQ and the autistic symptoms severity were estimated from the diagnostic instruments WISC III, ADI-R, ADOS-2 and VABS.
Results: According to the results, 12,5% of the mothers had problems during pregnancy, mainly vaginal bleeding at 1st trimester (17,4%). In addition, the use of drugs was common (27,7%) as well as gestational diabetes (18,3%), while gestational hypertension and maternal depression were not very often. Preeclampsia, prolonged labor, prematurity, staying at the intensive care unit and neonatal jaundice were mentioned by a high prevalence, in contrast with the very low birth weight. Neonatal jaundice was associated with the symptoms severity (p <0.05). We also found positive associations with children’s age, clinical diagnosis and father’s educational level (p <0.05).
Conclusion: To conclude, the etiology of autism contains many environmental factors in association with genetic factors, which maybe affect ASD clinical symptoms. Further studies investigating the impact of these factors and their association with IQ and severity of autistic symptoms are needed, in order to develop the appropriate preventive interventions.
Keywords:
Autism spectrum disorders, Perinatal risk factors, Symptoms severity, IQ
