Prenatal, Perinatal and Infancy History of Autism Spectrum Disorder

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prenatal, perinatal, and infancy history of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as compared to unaffected siblings (SIB) and typically developing children (TC). METHODS: Subjects with ASD, their SIB, and TC were recruited. All subjects were assessed using both the Korean version of Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (K-ADI-R) and the Korean version of Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (K-ADOS) and were subsequently identified as affected or unaffected. Prenatal, perinatal, and infancy history was obtained from the primary caregivers and each facet was compared in those with ASD, the SIB, and the TC groups using SPSS ver. 17.0 (p<.05). RESULTS: 70 individuals with ASD (63 males, 87.94+/-37.8months), 53 SIB (27 males, 85.40+/-48.06 months), and 32 TC (19 males, 104.19+/-23.409 months) were analyzed. The ASD group showed significantly higher rates of insufficient vaccination as they aged age (chi2=15.54, p=.000). Among the scheduled vaccinations, the DPT vaccination (chi2=10.08, p=.006) was insufficient in ASD groups. The ASD group also showed higher rates of sleep disturbances from infancy. Differences in maternal/paternal age at conception, gestational age, and growth parameters at birth were not significantly difference among the three groups. CONCLUSION: These results do not support the previous controversies regarding the relationship between prenatal/perinatal complications and ASD. However, these results indicate that perinatal and prenatal factors may contribute to the development of ASD.