title: Is infertility associated with childhood autism?
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.
authors: California Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Investigations Branch, Richmond, CA 94804, USA.
authors: Judith K
authors: JK
authors: Grether
authors: Yinge
authors: Y
authors: Qian
authors: Mary S
authors: MS
authors: Croughan
authors: Yvonne W
authors: YW
authors: Wu
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Schembri
authors: Loretta
authors: L
authors: Camarano
authors: Lisa A
authors: LA
authors: Croen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D002140:California; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007246:Infertility / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D008499:Medical Records; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D012306:Risk