Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36189896›Full record

ArticleAutism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research2022

Association of maternal autoimmune disease and early childhood infections with offspring autism spectrum disorder: A population-based cohort study.

Timothy C Nielsen, Natasha Nassar, Antonia W Shand, Hannah F Jones, Velda X Han, Shrujna Patel, Adam J Guastella, Russell C Dale, Samantha J Lain

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
3.9field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Medicinal cannabis plant extract (NTI164) modifies epigenetic, ribosomal, and immune pathways in paediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2026
    Trial
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Gene×environment interactions in autism spectrum disorders.Current topics in developmental biology · 2023
    Review
  9. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 1 institution in 3 countries.

Timothy C NielsenChildren's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-8801-572X
Natasha NassarChildren's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Antonia W ShandChildren's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Hannah F JonesChildren's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Velda X HanChildren's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Shrujna PatelChildren's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Adam J GuastellaBrain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-8178-4625
Russell C DaleChildren's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Samantha J LainChildren's Hospital Westmead Clinical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
The University of Sydney · AU

Funding

Financial Markets Foundation for ChildrenNational Health and Medical Research Council APP1197940
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine potential synergistic effects between maternal autoimmune disease and early childhood infections and their association with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in offspring. Both exposures have been associated with increased risk of ASD in previous studies, but potential synergistic effects remain underexplored. We conducted a population-based cohort study of singleton children born at term gestation (37-41 weeks) in New South Wales, Australia from January 2002 to December 2008. Maternal autoimmune diagnoses and childhood infections before age 2 years were identified from linked maternal and child hospital admissions, and ASD diagnoses by age 9 years were identified from linked disability services data. Multivariable logistic regression assessed the association between each exposure and ASD and additive interaction between exposures, controlling for potential confounders. A total of 18,451 children exposed to maternal autoimmune disease were propensity score matched (1:2) to 36,902 unexposed children. Any maternal autoimmune disease (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.25, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07-1.47) and any childhood infection before age 2 years (aOR 1.38, 95% CI 1.15-1.67) were each associated with ASD. However, there was no evidence of additive interaction between the two exposures (relative excess risk due to interaction [RERI] 0.128, 95% CI -0.418-0.675) resulting in increased odds of ASD in offspring. Future studies could examine potential interactions between other sources of maternal immune activation and childhood infection and impact on ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Indexed as

Autism Spectrum DisorderAutoimmune DiseasesChildChild, PreschoolCohort StudiesHumansLogistic ModelsOdds RatioAustraliaautism Spectrum disorderautoimmune diseasesinfectionspregnancy

Identifiers

PMID36189896
PMCPMC10946525
OpenAlexW4300689414

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.