ArticlePsychological medicine2020
Maternal polycystic ovary syndrome and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders in offspring: prenatal androgen exposure or genetic confounding?
Article in Psychological medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 67 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
67 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 106 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neuropsychiatric disorders in children of mothers with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy of Acupuncture in Alleviating Negative Emotions in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Brain and behavior · 2025Pooled it
- Steroid hormone pathways, vitamin D and autism: a systematic review.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2023Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between maternal polycystic ovary syndrome and neuropsychiatric disorders in children.Translational psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Potential links between PCOS/PMOS and Alzheimer disease and related dementias.Journal of the Endocrine Society · 2026Review
- Major mental disorders in offspring of mothers with polycystic ovary syndrome.Archives of women's mental health · 2026Article
- Hypoadiponectinemia does not enhance anxiety-like behaviour in a lean PCOS-like mouse model.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Dissecting the shared genetic architecture between testosterone traits and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Steroidopathies and hormonal imbalance in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.JCPP advances · 2026Article
- Understanding Sex and Gender Effects on Autism Spectrum Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Clinical Presentation and Risk Factors.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2026Review
- Elevated maternal testosterone induces sex-specific neurodevelopmental changes and ASD-related behavioral phenotypes in rat offspring.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- Perinatal hyperandrogenization and immune activation in rodents model subtypes of autism.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- The Ontogeny of Distinct Reproductive Phenotypes in Girls at Risk for PCOS During the Postmenarchal Transition.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2026Article
- Association of maternal endometriosis with autism spectrum disorder in offspring: a retrospective cohort study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Chinese herbal medicine on the offspring of women with polycystic ovary syndrome: A retrospective cohort study.Medicine · 2025Article
- The Effects of Maternal Endocrinopathies and Exposure to Endocrine Disruptors During Pregnancy on the Fetus and Newborn.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Neuroactive steroid exposure impacts neurodevelopment: Comparison of human and rodent placental contribution.Journal of neuroendocrinology · 2025Review
- Serum iron status and risk of Tourette's syndrome: a Mendelian randomization study.European journal of pediatrics · 2025Article
- A diagnostic model for polycystic ovary syndrome based on machine learning.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Maternal Hyperandrogenemia and the Long-Term Neuropsychological, Sex Developmental, and Metabolic Effects on Offspring.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
7 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMaternal polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been proposed as a model for investigating the role of prenatal androgen exposure in the development of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, women with PCOS are at higher risk of developing psychiatric conditions and previous studies are likely confounded by genetic influences.
methodsA Swedish nationwide register-based cohort study was conducted to disentangle the influence of prenatal androgen exposure from familial confounding in the association between maternal PCOS and offspring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and Tourette's disorder and chronic tic disorders (TD/CTD). PCOS-exposed offspring (n = 21 280) were compared with unrelated PCOS-unexposed offspring (n = 200 816) and PCOS-unexposed cousins (n = 17 295). Associations were estimated with stratified Cox regression models.
resultsPCOS-exposed offspring had increased risk of being diagnosed with ADHD, ASD, and TD/CTD compared with unrelated PCOS-unexposed offspring. Associations were stronger in girls for ADHD and ASD but not TD/CTD [ADHD: adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 1.61 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.31-1.99), ASD: aHR = 2.02 (95% CI 1.45-2.82)] than boys [ADHD: aHR = 1.37 (95% CI 1.19-1.57), ASD: aHR = 1.46 (95% CI 1.21-1.76)]. For ADHD and ASD, aHRs for girls were stronger when compared with PCOS-unexposed cousins, but slightly attenuated for boys.
conclusionsEstimates were similar when accounting for familial confounding (i.e. genetics and environmental factors shared by cousins) and stronger in girls for ADHD and ASD, potentially indicating a differential influence of prenatal androgen exposure v. genetic factors. These results strengthen evidence for a potential causal influence of prenatal androgen exposure on the development of male-predominant neuropsychiatric disorders in female offspring of women with PCOS.
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