Study: Autism risk tied to mom's obesity during pregnancy

(CBS/AP) Autism is more likely to occur in children whose mothers were obese while pregnant, new research suggests.

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The study, one of the first of its kind, involved about 1,000 California children, ages 2 to 5. Researchers affiliated with the UC Davis MIND Institute looked at their mothers' medical records and examined the association between obesity and autism. Women who were obese during pregnancy were about 67 percent more likely than normal-weight women to have autistic children, the study showed. Obese moms also faced double the risk of having children with other developmental delays.

Obesity isn't the only risk factor found for pregnant moms in the study. Researchers also looked at prevalence of gestational diabetes and found pregnant moms with diabetes had nearly 2 1/3 times the chance of having a child with developmental delays compared with healthy mothers. Although the proportion of diabetic mothers who had a child with autism was higher, the numbers did not reach statistical significance.

The study was published online in the April 9 issue of Pediatrics.

What explains the results? Researchers say the study does not indicate cause and effect - and further research must be done to confirm the results. But the authors theorize that obesity - generally about 35 pounds overweight - is linked with inflammation and sometimes elevated levels of blood sugar. Excess blood sugar and inflammation-related substances in a mother's blood may reach the fetus and damage the developing brain, study author Paula Krakowiak, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Davis, said.

On average, women face a 1 in 88 chance of having a child with autism, according to recent CDC figures. The new research suggests that obesity during pregnancy would increase that to a 1 in 53 chance, the authors said.

"Over a third of U.S. women in their childbearing years are obese and nearly one-tenth have gestational or type 2 diabetes during pregnancy," Krakowiak said in a written statement. "Our finding that these maternal conditions may be linked with neurodevelopmental problems in children raises concerns and therefore may have serious public-health implications."

Previous research has linked obesity during pregnancy with stillbirths, preterm births and some birth defects.

U.S. autism rates have increased along with obesity rates, says Dr. Daniel Coury, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He said the research suggests that may be more than a coincidence.

If mothers' obesity is truly related to autism, it would be only one of many contributing factors, said Coury, who was not involved in the study.

What other factors have been linked to autism? Genetics, mothers' illnesses and use of certain medicines during pregnancy are a few, according to the CDC.

Although the study looked at obesity in the mothers, it lacks information on women's diets and other habits during pregnancy that might have influenced fetal development.

The CDC has more on pregnancy complications, including obesity and gestational diabetes.

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Is it autism? Facial features that show disorder

[JennaDeVa]

As a mother of an Asperger's child (an autism spectrum disorder), I am appalled at the conclusion of the study. What were the other common variables in this study. I was no where near obese before nor during my pregnancy. So how could those that conducted the study account for non-obese mothers having an Autistic child? I do believe some people do these studies for nothing more than the funding and attention, because this study would not have withstood a peer review. Scientific method. I would suggest they go back to the books, because they are grasping at straws.

[T-smom]

To those who blame autism on parents "bad genes" just remember some people with so called 'bad genes" have contributed greatly to society Stephen Hawkins (ALS), Abe Lincoln (Marfans Syndrome), Vincent Van Gogh (epilepsy), Winston Churchill (depression), Virgina Wolf (bipolar disorder), Isaac Newton (bipolar) Ernest Hemingway (bipolar), John Nash (Schizophrenia) and it is noones business as to who 'breeds" with who. When you start blaming bad genes and breeding it's a very slippery slope toward eugenics IMO.

[EverVigilant1]

It's amazing how every time research comes out saying that faults of a parent can cause developmental problems like autism (a concept which, I should add, does not conflict with common sense), the reaction is a rush to protect the feelings of insecure mothers.

Do we care about children, or do we care about the feelings of neurotics who are unwilling to face a truth even if it means sacrificing their own children's well-being?

We have a truth problem in our world. If each of us would take a moment out of each day to face a painful truth we've been pushing out of our minds, that would go farther toward making the world a better place than any other utopian scheme I can think of.

[byrdh5n1]

Lose weight, prevent autism..... take Norplant. Please, take Norplant....

[FormerUSMCSergeant]

by WillowSunstar April 10, 2012 8:00 AM EDT
Yes, let's blame the mothers.
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Of course we shouldn't.

The intelligent thing would be to simply ignore the data so fat mothers won't feel guilty when their child is born with autism as a result of mom over-stuffing her gullet.....

[margroks]

More BS about autism. It's not vaccines and it's not mom's fault because she's overweight. It's some genetic predisposition and people should stop blaming things because they don't want to admit that.

[WillowSunstar]

Yes, let's blame the mothers. After all, it's easier than finding an actual cure for a disease that's probably caused by a number of things, including the modern environment.

[SkepticalMom]

Give me a freaking break. How about a genetic predisposition to inflammatory autoimmune disorders (like diabetes) leads to children with a genetic predisposition to inflammatory autoimmune disorders. And what happens when those babies get loaded up with adjuvanted vaccines like Hep B starting on Day 1 of life? Inflammatory cytokine response with downstream effects on brain development. It's long past time to stop letting Pharma & the CDC experiment on our babies.

[kathyblanco]

It's the stupidist thing yet. I mean, really? Vaccines, too many vaccines, quit skipping around the truth and wasting time and money when we have an epidemic on our hands. Also, if moms are fat, they are probably toxic to the gills with mercury and other fat soluble toxins. Any toxins in moms, disrupts the maturation of the brain in utero, and contributes to inflammation and oxidative stress. Then the chromatin bookmarks become permanent by vaccinating children with undermethylation and detox pathway problems, whala, autism. So, if you think of autism as a lasagna layer of damage, your right. The last straw always, always seems to be the "damn vaccine" they had, that tips them over the edge. Personally, with two with autism, I was underweight, but, that doesn't mean I wasn't toxic. I lived underneath a cement plant in silicon valley, and had fourteen amalgams in my teeth. By the time I had my kids, I had a chuck load of heavy metal toxicity going right to my prescious babies. When they had SEVERE vaccine reactions (one almost died), I knew in my heart that vaccines INITIATED the whole cascade of damages. My children, and many children cannot take this new schedule, slow it down, or just opt out, if you want normal, healthy children. Keep exemptions and fight for your right to have a clean world and a clean body. If you don't, then good luck with the "odds".

[LunaAzule]

Maybe it's not the weight gain but the kinda' foods that caused the gain. I ate well and gained 60 lbs. My son's musically gifted and my daughter just got her university degree.