In a recent study published in the American Journal of Perinatology, researchers found children whose mothers had hyperemesis gravidarum—a severe form of morning sickness—during pregnancy were 53% more likely to be diagnosed with autism.
This finding is important because it suggests that children born to women with hyperemesis may be at an increased risk of autism.
Awareness of this association may create the opportunity for earlier diagnosis and intervention in children at risk of autism.
The research is from Kaiser Permanente. One author is Darios Getahun, MD, Ph.D.
Hyperemesis gravidarum occurs in less than 5% of pregnancies. Affected women experience intense nausea and are unable to keep down food and fluids. This can lead to dangerous dehydration and inadequate nutrition during pregnancy.
In the study, the team reviewed electronic health records of nearly 500,000 pregnant women and their children born between 1991 and 2014 at Kaiser Permanente in Southern California.
They compared children whose mothers had a diagnosis of hyperemesis gravidarum during pregnancy to those whose mothers did not.
The team found exposure to hyperemesis gravidarum was linked to increased risk of autism when hyperemesis gravidarum was diagnosed during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy, but not when it was diagnosed only in the third trimester.
Exposure to hyperemesis gravidarum was linked to the risk of autism regardless of the severity of the mother’s hyperemesis gravidarum.
The association between hyperemesis gravidarum and autism was stronger in girls than boys and among whites and Hispanics than among blacks and Pacific Islanders.
The medications used to treat hyperemesis gravidarum did not appear to be related to autism risk.
The team says the study cannot rule out other possible explanations, such as perinatal exposures to some medications and maternal smoking.
If you care about autism, please read studies about lack of zinc in early development is linked to autism and findings of this common food may contribute to autism.
For more information about autism prevention and treatment, please see recent studies about gut bacteria transfer may cut 50% of autism symptoms and results showing that these unusual eating behaviors may signal autism.
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