title: Brief report: maternal smoking during pregnancy and autism spectrum disorders.
abstract: Prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke is suggested as a potential risk factor for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Previous epidemiological studies of this topic have yielded mixed findings. We performed a case-control study of 3,958 ASD cases and 38,983 controls nested in a large register-based cohort in Sweden. ASD case status was measured using a multisource case ascertainment system. In adjusted results, we found that maternal smoking during pregnancy is not associated with increased risk of ASD regardless of presence or absence of comorbid intellectual disability. Apparent associations were attributable to confounding by sociodemographic characteristics of parents such as education, income, and occupation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Drexel University School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA. bklee@drexel.edu
authors.forename: Brian K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Renee M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dal
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Svensson
authors.forename: Maria Rosaria
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Galanti
authors.forename: Dheeraj
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rai
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dalman
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Magnusson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012042:Registries; D012306:Risk; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013548:Sweden