Study links maternal health conditions with autism, with differences by race

A retrospective study found that maternal health conditions during pregnancy were associated with autism in children, with some associations differing by maternal race and ethnicity. Researchers followed 224,353 children born from 2010 to 2017 in the Kaiser Permanente Northern California health system. Of those children, 5,448 were diagnosed with autism. The study assessed 25 maternal diagnoses.

Four conditions, maternal overweight and obesity, depression, asthma, and pregnancy complications, had associations with autism that differed by race and ethnicity. The researchers reported stronger associations among white mothers than among Black, Hispanic, or Asian and Pacific Islander mothers. The study used health system records to assess maternal conditions and autism diagnoses. The researchers said its follow-up period did not capture diagnoses made at later ages.