eprintid: 1396927
rev_number: 31
eprint_status: archive
userid: 608
dir: disk0/01/39/69/27
datestamp: 2013-06-19 20:12:04
lastmod: 2021-10-05 00:46:26
status_changed: 2013-06-19 20:12:04
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
item_issues_count: 0
creators_name: Rai, D
creators_name: Golding, J
creators_name: Magnusson, C
creators_name: Steer, C
creators_name: Lewis, G
creators_name: Dalman, C
title: Prenatal and Early Life Exposure to Stressful Life Events and Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorders: Population-Based Studies in Sweden and England
ispublished: pub
divisions: UCL
divisions: B02
divisions: C07
divisions: D79
keywords: Autistic Disorder, Cohort Studies, England, Female, Humans, Life Change Events, Maternal Exposure, Pregnancy, Stress, Psychological, Sweden
note: © 2012 Rai et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

PMCID: PMC3374800
abstract: Background and Aim

Exposure to stressful life events during pregnancy has been suggested as a potential risk factor for offspring Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), but the literature is limited and inconsistent. We tested the hypothesis that maternal exposure to stressful life events would be associated with increased risks of offspring ASD, and that these risks would be highest for exposures during the prenatal period.
Methods and Results

We used prospectively collected data from two large population based studies in Sweden and England. In the Swedish study of 4429 ASD cases and 43277 controls, our exposure comprised the occurrence of any severe life event before and during pregnancy and the child's early life. In the English study (maximum n = 11554, ASD n = 72), we studied the risk of offspring ASD in relation to a combined maternal exposure to multiple (up to 42) common and rare life events, as well as their perceived impact upon the mother during pregnancy and early life. In crude and adjusted regression analyses in both studies, we found no evidence of an association between prenatal life events, or their number and perceived impact and the risk of offspring ASD. Sub-group analysis of ASD with and without intellectual disability in the Swedish study yielded similar results.
Conclusion

We found no evidence to support the hypotheses that exposure to stressful life events during the prenatal period is associated with an increased risk of offspring ASD.
date: 2012-06-13
official_url: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0038893
vfaculties: VFBRS
oa_status: green
full_text_type: pub
language: eng
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
article_type_text: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
verified: verified_manual
elements_source: PubMed
elements_id: 876972
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0038893
pii: PONE-D-12-07092
lyricists_name: Lewis, Glyn
lyricists_id: GHLEW69
full_text_status: public
publication: PLoS One
volume: 7
number: 6
article_number: e38893
pagerange: -
event_location: United States
issn: 1932-6203
citation:        Rai, D;    Golding, J;    Magnusson, C;    Steer, C;    Lewis, G;    Dalman, C;      (2012)    Prenatal and Early Life Exposure to Stressful Life Events and Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorders: Population-Based Studies in Sweden and England.                   PLoS One , 7  (6)    , Article e38893.  10.1371/journal.pone.0038893 <https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0038893>.       Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1396927/1/journal.pone.0038893.pdf