A succession of interconnected environmental factors is believed to contribute substantially to the development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This exploratory study therefore aims to identify potential risk factors for ASD that are associated with pregnancy, birth and infant feeding. Demographic and health-related data on children aged…

Whether there is a relationship between oxytocin (OXT) use in labor and the risk of autism (ASD), and the nature of such relationship, is unclear. By integrating genetic and clinical data in a sample of 176 ASD participants, we tested the hypothesis that OXT is a marker for abnormal prenatal development which leads to impairments in the process of…

The purpose of the current study was to use the infant sibling design to explore whether proband traits of autism and ADHD could provide information about their infant sibling's temperament. This could help us to gain information about the extent to which infant temperament traits are differentially associated with autism and ADHD traits. We used…

Loneliness has been associated with several adverse psychosocial outcomes in childhood and adolescence. The present study aimed to investigate feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction in school-aged typically-developing (TD) siblings of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). For this purpose, 118 siblings of children with ASD…

Pre- and post-term children show increased autism risk. Little is known about gestational age (GA) prevalence among autistic children, and their respective autism phenotype. We compared prevalence of pre-, full- and post-term birth between a population-derived sample of N = 606 (137 females, 22.61%) autistic children and adolescents (mean age =…

Research has linked pre- and perinatal complications (PPCs) with increased risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, PPCs are also known risk factors for other mental health disorders. This study explored which PPCs are specific risk factors for ASD, as opposed to other forms of psychopathology, among a large sample of clinically-referred…

The current study investigated the impact of birth order on vocabulary and social language development in 1338 first-born and 1049 s-born autistic youth (M age = 9.03 years, SD = 3.57; 86.4% male) from the Simons Simplex Collection. Frequentist and Bayesian analyses revealed mixed findings in language development. There were no differences in…

This study tested the hypothesis that exposure of children prior to their third birthday to procedures requiring general anesthesia is associated with an increased incidence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in later life. This study employed a nested, 1:2 matched-case control study design using ASD cases identified in a population-based birth…

Cesarean section (CS) has been consistently associated with susceptibility to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however, the underlying mechanism for this association remains vague. Here, we studied various pre-peri-and-neonatal factors among 347 children with ASD, 117 children with other developmental delays (DD), and 2226 age, sex and ethnicity…

This RCT investigated whether participants' sibling configuration moderated the effect of a Theory of Mind (ToM) intervention for children with autism. Children with autism aged 8-13 years (n = 141) were randomized over a waitlist control or treatment condition. Both having more siblings, as well as having an older sibling were related to better…

Qualitative accounts indicate there are sensory and communication related barriers to adequate childbirth and postnatal healthcare for autistic people. However, little quantitative work has explored the topic. This online survey study explored childbirth and postnatal experiences among 384 autistic and 492 non-autistic people. Compared with…

Using records from the National Insurance Institute of Israel, we recognized all children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD, N = 8072) or hearing loss (HL, N = 2231) born in Israel between 2005 and 2010. Typical developed children were taken from a random 20% sample of children born during the same years (N = 227,492). Analyses were adjusted for…

Emerging research suggests that adiponectin, a cytokine produced by adipose tissue, may be implicated in ASD. In this prospective birth cohort study (n = 847), we assessed the association between cord, early childhood plasma adiponectin and the risk of developing ASD. ASD was defined based on ICD codes of physician diagnosis. Cord adiponectin…

The objective is to identify obstetric and perinatal factors that could be significant predictors of ASD and may lead to early detection and intervention. A population-based case-control study including 128 children diagnosed with ASD and 311 controls was conducted. Information was collected through self-reported questionnaires. The factors…

Previous research has found multiplex (MPX) children have an advantage in cognition compared to simplex (SPX) children. However, MPX parent's previous experience with older diagnosed siblings has not been considered. We used a large database sample to investigate the MPX advantage and contribution of birth order. Children from the Autism Genetic…