Findings Show that Children Whose Mothers Have Sjogren’s Syndrome or Rheumatoid Arthritis Have a Higher Cumulative Risk of Autism
Researchers from Taiwan recently investigated the association between prenatal exposure to maternal autoimmune disease and the risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in offspring. The study used data from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Database and Taiwan’s Maternal and Child Health Database (MCHD), which were integrated and used to identify newborns whose mothers had been diagnosed with autoimmune disease. In total, 20,865 newborns were identified that had been born to mothers diagnosed with autoimmune conditions before pregnancy. The study’s findings revealed that children born to mothers with autoimmune diseases, especially Sjogren’s syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis, had a higher cumulative risk of ASD. The authors suggest that since the development of ASD is not fully understood, they believe it to be multifactorial, including genetic, environmental, parental, perinatal, as well as maternal autoimmune disease factors. The research team determined that maternal immune activation (MIA) during the prenatal and early post-natal periods plays a crucial role in the development of ASD in offspring, comprising multiple pathways. Ultimately, this study’s findings indicate that maternal autoimmune disease is associated with an increased risk of ASD in offspring.
