Maternal autoimmune diseases and the risk of autism spectrum disorders in offspring: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Although inherited and immune disorder factors are known to be involved in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), controversy still exists as to whether maternal autoimmune disease is an independent risk of ASD in offspring. We aimed to quantitatively summarize the risk of ASD in offspring in relation to maternal autoimmune diseases. A literature search in Pubmed, Web of science, Embase, and China national knowledge internet was conducted to identify relevant studies. Pooled odd ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were computed by STATA version 12.0. Nine case-control studies and one cohort studies comprising 9775 cases and 952,211 controls were included in this study. A positive association between maternal autoimmune diseases and the risk of ASD in offspring was identified assuming a fixed effect model (pooled OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.23-1.46; I(2), 27.9%). There were statistically significant associations between maternal autoimmune diseases developed during pregnancy or maternal thyroid disease and the risk of ASD in offspring (pooled OR, 1.30, 1.29, respectively). Maternal autoimmune disease is likely to be an independent risk factor of ASD in offspring.
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Shao-Wei
SW
Chen
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Xue-Shan
XS
Zhong
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China,; Institute of Acute Communicable Diseases Prevention and Control, Guangxi provincial Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Nanning 530000, China.
Li-Na
LN
Jiang
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Xue-Yan
XY
Zheng
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Yi-Quan
YQ
Xiong
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Shu-Juan
SJ
Ma
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Min
M
Qiu
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Shu-Ting
ST
Huo
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Jing
J
Ge
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China,. Electronic address: qch.2009@163.com.
Qing
Q
Chen
D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*
Autism; Autoimmune diseases; Maternal; Meta-analysis; Offspring