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Journal article
Birth seasonality and risk of autism spectrum disorder
European journal of epidemiology, v 34(8), pp 785-792
01 Aug 2019
PMID: 30891686
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Season of birth has been hypothesized to be a risk factor for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the evidence has been mixed and limited due to methodological challenges. We examine ASD birth trends for 5,464,628 births across 5 countries. ASD birth prevalence data were obtained from the International Collaboration for Autism Registry Epidemiology database, including children born in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Western Australia. Empirical mode decomposition and cosinor modeling were used to assess seasonality. We show seasonal variation in ASD births for the countries of Finland and Sweden. There was a modest increase in risk for children born in the fall and a modest decrease in risk for children born in the spring. Solar radiation levels around conception and the postnatal period were inversely correlated with seasonal trends in ASD risk. In the first multinational study of birth seasonality of ASD, there was evidence supporting the presence of seasonal trends in Finland and Sweden. The observations that risk was highest for fall births (i.e., conceived in the winter) and lowest for spring births (i.e., conceived in the summer), and sunlight levels during critical neurodevelopmental periods explained much of the seasonal trends, are consistent with the hypothesis that a seasonally fluctuating risk factor may influence risk of ASD.
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Details
- Title
- Birth seasonality and risk of autism spectrum disorder
- Creators
- Brian K. Lee - Drexel UniversityRaz Gross - Tel Aviv UniversityRichard W. Francis - Telethon Kids InstituteHakan Karlsson - Karolinska InstituteDiana E. Schendel - Department of Public Health, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, DenmarkAndre Sourander - Turku University HospitalAbraham Reichenberg - Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiErik T. Parner - Department of Public Health, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark.Mady Hornig - Department of Epidemiology and Center for Infection and Immunity, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.Amit Yaniv - Sheba Medical CenterHelen Leonardo - Univ Western Australia, Telethon Kids Inst, Perth, WA, AustraliaSven Sandin - Karolinska Institute
- Publication Details
- European journal of epidemiology, v 34(8), pp 785-792
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Number of pages
- 8
- Grant note
- 6230; 6246; 6247; 6248; 6249; 6251; 6295 / Autism Speaks
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Epidemiology and Biostatistics; A.J. Drexel Autism Institute
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000474420600009
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85063221787
- Other Identifier
- 991019169667904721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Public, Environmental & Occupational Health