title: Autism spectrum disorders and maternal serum α-fetoprotein levels during pregnancy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Numerous studies have been trying to disentangle the complex pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In our study, we explored the potential role of maternal serum (MS) alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in the prediction and the pathophysiology of ASD.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 112 patients with ASD and 243 control subjects were included in a case-control study, using a historic birth cohort maintained at Statens Serum Institute. Measurements of MS-AFP were obtained from a multicentre screening program, whereas clinical data were obtained from nationwide registers. Association between MS-AFP and ASD status was analyzed using logistic regression models and nonparametric tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Crude, but not adjusted, estimates showed that MS-AFP levels were slightly, but significantly, higher in mothers of children with ASD, compared with their control subject counterparts. People with ASD had an odds ratio of 2.33, with 95% confidence intervals of 1.00 to 5.39, to have MS-AFP above 2.5 multiple of median. Excluding subjects with congenital malformation comorbidities did not alter the direction of our estimates (OR 2.60; 95% CI 1.04 to 6.51, P = 0.04).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Biologic plausibility of its role in the pathophysiology of ASD makes AFP a good candidate for further larger-scale studies to confirm such an association and to determine whether this pattern is unique to ASD or related to other psychiatric disorders as well.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Aarhus University School of Public Health, Denmark. mab@soci.au.dk
authors.forename: Morsi W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Abdallah
authors.forename: Jakob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Grove
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Hougaard
authors.forename: Bent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nørgaard-Pedersen
authors.forename: Fuad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ibrahimov
authors.forename: Erik L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Mortensen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods; D012042:Registries; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins