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PMID: 22777105 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Is infertility associated with childhood autism?

Journal of autism and developmental disorders ·Vol. 43 ·No. 3 ·2013-03-00 ·Pages 663-72

Grether JK, Qian Y, Croughan MS, Wu YW, Schembri M, Camarano L, Croen LA

Abstract

Concerns persist about a possible link between infertility and risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Interpretation of existing studies is limited by racial/ethnic homogeneity of study populations and other factors. Using a case-control design, we evaluated infertility history and treatment documented in medical records of members of Kaiser Permanente Northern California. Among singletons (349 cases, 1,847 controls), we found no evidence to support an increase in risk of ASD associated with infertility. Among multiple births (21 cases, 54 controls), we found an increased risk associated with infertility history and with infertility evaluations and treatment around the time of index pregnancy conception; however, small sample size and lack of detailed data on treatments preclude firm interpretation of results for multiple births.

MeSH Terms

Adult Autistic Disorder/epidemiology,etiology California Case-Control Studies Child Child, Preschool Databases, Factual Female Gestational Age Humans Infant Infant, Newborn Infertility/complications,epidemiology,therapy Male Maternal Age Medical Records Middle Aged Pregnancy Risk

Authors & Affiliations

7 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID

Grether Judith K

California Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Investigations Branch, Richmond, CA 94804, USA.

Qian Yinge

Croughan Mary S

Wu Yvonne W

Schembri Michael

Camarano Loretta

Croen Lisa A

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Article Info

Journal

Journal of autism and developmental disorders

Abbr.

J Autism Dev Disord

ISSN

1573-3432

DOI

10.1007/s10803-012-1598-5

Published

2013-03-00

Pages

663-72

Language

English

Region

United States

NLM ID

7904301

Subset

Grants

NICHD NIH HHS · 1-P01-HD37074 · United States

NCI NIH HHS · 1-RO1-CA-69619 · United States

PHS HHS · U10/CCU920392 · United States

External Links

PubMed source DOI: 10.1007/s10803-012-1598-5 View journal details

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Is infertility associated with childhood autism?

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