title: Maternal hirsutism and autism spectrum disorders in offspring.
abstract: Because animal and human studies indicate that androgen exposure can influence neurodevelopment, it has been hypothesized that prenatal exposure to excess androgens may predispose to disorders with male-skewed ratio such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Therefore, maternal conditions characterized by hyperandrogenism such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) or hirsutism may be relevant to child ASD. We previously found in a large Swedish case-control study of 23,748 ASD cases and 208,796 matched controls that PCOS in mothers is associated with increased offspring risk of ASD. In the same sample, we have now examined whether maternal diagnoses of hirsutism were associated with ASD. In both unadjusted logistic regression models and models adjusted for a variety of covariates, hirsutism was associated with higher odds of ASD. The most adjusted odds ratios for associations with ASD for hirsutism diagnosis before birth and lifetime diagnosis of hirsutism were 1.64 (95% CI: 0.94, 2.83) and 1.26 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.57), respectively. The presence of an association of maternal hirsutism with child ASD is consistent with the hypothesis that androgens may be involved in the etiology of ASD. Autism Res 2017, 10: 1544-1546. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Drexel University School of Public Health, 3215 Market St, Philadelphia, PA, 19104.|A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, 3020 Market St, Philadelphia, PA, 19104.
authors.forename: Brian K
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3635-8034
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 14186, Sweden.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arver
authors.affiliation: Centre for Epidemiology and Community Medicine, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, 17129, Sweden.|Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Public Health Epidemiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 17177, Sweden.
authors.forename: Linnea
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Widman
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Public Health Epidemiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 17177, Sweden.
authors.forename: Renee M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.affiliation: Centre for Epidemiology and Community Medicine, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, 17129, Sweden.|Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Public Health Epidemiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 17177, Sweden.
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Magnusson
authors.affiliation: Centre for Epidemiology and Community Medicine, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, 17129, Sweden.|Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Public Health Epidemiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 17177, Sweden.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dalman
authors.affiliation: Centre for Epidemiology and Community Medicine, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, 17129, Sweden.|Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Public Health Epidemiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 17177, Sweden.
authors.forename: Kyriaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kosidou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006628:Hirsutism / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: environmental risk factors; epidemiology - analytic (risk factors); pre- and perinatal risk factors