title: The association between autism spectrum disorders and congenital anomalies by organ systems in a Finnish national birth cohort.
abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between autism spectrum disorders (ASD) with and without intellectual disability (ID) and congenital anomalies (CAs) by organ system. The sample included all children diagnosed with ASD (n = 4441) from the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register during 1987-2000 and a total of four controls per case (n = 17,695). CAs of the eye, central nervous system, and specific craniofacial anomalies were most strongly associated with ASD. Children with ASD and co-occurring ID were more likely to have CAs compared to ASD children without ID. The results suggest that some cases of ASD may originate during organogenesis, in the early first trimester of pregnancy. The results of this study may be useful for identifying prenatal etiological factors and elucidating the molecular pathogenesis of ASD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, University of Turku and Turku University Central Hospital, Turku, Finland. lamtim@utu.fi.|Department of Child Neurology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland. lamtim@utu.fi.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Timonen-Soivio
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, University of Turku and Turku University Central Hospital, Turku, Finland.|Department of Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Andre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sourander
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, University of Turku and Turku University Central Hospital, Turku, Finland.|Teratology Information Service, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.|Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Helsinki University and Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Heli
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Malm
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, University of Turku and Turku University Central Hospital, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Susanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hinkka-Yli-Salomäki
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, University of Turku and Turku University Central Hospital, Turku, Finland.|National Institute of Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.|Nordic School of Public Health, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gissler
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.|Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Neurology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Raija
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vanhala
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male
keywords: Autism spectrum disorders; Birth defects; Congenital anomalies; Malformations