ArticleMolecular psychiatry2020
Foetal oestrogens and autism.
Article in Molecular psychiatry, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 90 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
90 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 194 citations in OpenAlex.
- 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
- Brain-based sex differences in autism spectrum disorder across the lifespan: A systematic review of structural MRI, fMRI, and DTI findings.NeuroImage. Clinical · 2021Pooled it
- Systematic Review and Bioinformatic Analysis of microRNA Expression in Autism Spectrum Disorder Identifies Pathways Associated With Cancer, Metabolism, Cell Signaling, and Cell Adhesion.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of cannabidiol-rich cannabis extract in children with autism spectrum disorder: randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled clinical trial.Trends in psychiatry and psychotherapy · 2024Trial
- Effects of oxytocin administration on salivary sex hormone levels in autistic and neurotypical women.Molecular autism · 2020Trial
- Inflammatory Cytokines as Biologic Signatures of the Effect of Dietary Supplementation With Omega Fatty Acids on Autism-Related Behaviors and Features Among Young Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Steroidopathies and hormonal imbalance in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.JCPP advances · 2026Article
- The prenatal sex steroid theory of autism after 25 years.Nature human behaviour · 2026Review
- Sex-aware genome-wide assessment of de novo variants in autism across coding and noncoding regions.Human genomics · 2026Article
- Long-read assembly reveals vast transcriptional complexity in the placenta associated with metabolic and endocrine function.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Estradiol modulates neuronal network hyperexcitability in select NDD risk genes.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Longitudinal multi-omics analysis of umbilical cord blood and childhood serum in Autism.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- De Novo Variation in Autism by Sex and Diagnostic Status in 41,367 Parent-Child Trios.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Prenatal environmental determinants of aromatase brain-promoter methylation in cord blood: chemical, airborne, pharmacological, and nutritional factors.Environmental epigenetics · 2026Article
- Article
- Autistic Adults Avoid Unpredictability in Decision-Making.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Article
- Examining androgen and estrogen profiles during pubertal development in autistic and neurotypical girls.Hormones and behavior · 2025Article
- Valproate-Induced Autism and Sexual Hormone Disturbances: A Literature Review and Hypotheses.Neurochemical research · 2025Review
- Effects of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in the Brain: The Example of Neurodevelopment Alterations upon Exposure In Utero to Synthetic Sex Hormones.Journal of xenobiotics · 2025Review
30 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Elevated latent prenatal steroidogenic activity has been found in the amniotic fluid of autistic boys, based on measuring prenatal androgens and other steroid hormones. To date, it is unclear if other prenatal steroids also contribute to autism likelihood. Prenatal oestrogens need to be investigated, as they play a key role in synaptogenesis and corticogenesis during prenatal development, in both males and females. Here we test whether levels of prenatal oestriol, oestradiol, oestrone and oestrone sulphate in amniotic fluid are associated with autism, in the same Danish Historic Birth Cohort, in which prenatal androgens were measured, using univariate logistic regression (n = 98 cases, n = 177 controls). We also make a like-to-like comparison between the prenatal oestrogens and androgens. Oestradiol, oestrone, oestriol and progesterone each related to autism in univariate analyses after correction with false discovery rate. A comparison of standardised odds ratios showed that oestradiol, oestrone and progesterone had the largest effects on autism likelihood. These results for the first time show that prenatal oestrogens contribute to autism likelihood, extending the finding of elevated prenatal steroidogenic activity in autism. This likely affects sexual differentiation, brain development and function.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.