title: Association Between Maternal Obesity and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Offspring: A Meta-analysis.
abstract: As the link between maternal obesity and risk of autism among offspring is unclear, the present study assessed this association. A systematic search of an electronic database was performed to identify observational studies that examined the association between maternal obesity and autism. The outcome measures were odds ratios comparing offspring autism risk between obese and normal-weight mothers. Five observational studies were included in the meta-analysis. A fixed-effects model was used since low heterogeneity was observed between studies. The pooled adjusted odds ratio was 1.47 (95 % CI 1.24-1.74). The meta-analysis results support an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder in children of women who were obese during pregnancy. However, further study is warranted to confirm these results.
authors.affiliation: The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.|Xiangya Nursing School, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
authors.forename: Ya-Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Jun
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Ou
authors.affiliation: Xiangya Nursing School, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Xiangya Nursing School, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
authors.forename: Jing-Ping
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Xiangya Nursing School, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China. tangsyuan@126.com.
authors.forename: Si-Yuan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000068097:Maternal Health / Q000639:trends; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Maternal obesity; Meta-analysis; Offspring