title: Elevated maternal C-reactive protein and autism in a national birth cohort.
abstract: Autism is a complex neuropsychiatric syndrome with a largely unknown etiology. Inflammation during pregnancy may represent a common pathway by which infections and other insults increase risk for the disorder. Hence, we investigated the association between early gestational C-reactive protein (CRP), an established inflammatory biomarker, prospectively assayed in maternal sera, and childhood autism in a large national birth cohort with an extensive serum biobank. Other strengths of the cohort included nearly complete ascertainment of pregnancies in Finland (N=1.2 million) over the study period and national psychiatric registries consisting of virtually all treated autism cases in the population. Increasing maternal CRP levels, classified as a continuous variable, were significantly associated with autism in offspring. For maternal CRP levels in the highest quintile, compared with the lowest quintile, there was a significant, 43% elevated risk. This finding suggests that maternal inflammation may have a significant role in autism, with possible implications for identifying preventive strategies and pathogenic mechanisms in autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
authors: 1] Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA [2] Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA.
authors: A S
authors: AS
authors: Brown
authors: 1] Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA [2] Department of Child Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland [3] Department of Child Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Sourander
authors: 1] Department of Child Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland [2] Department of Child Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Hinkka-Yli-Salomäki
authors: Department of Biostatistics, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA.
authors: I W
authors: IW
authors: McKeague
authors: Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Sundvall
authors: National Institute for Health and Welfare, Oulu, Finland.
authors: H-M
authors: HM
authors: Surcel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D012042:Registries; D012306:Risk; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein