Maternal Infections During Pregnancy Show Weaker Association Due to Familial Factors
Researchers from Taiwan have recently conducted a large cohort study examining the potential influence of maternal infections during pregnancy and early childhood infections on the development of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), tic disorders, and mental retardation (MR). Using data from 2.8 million individuals born in Taiwan between 2001 and 2018, the authors employed population and sibling comparison analyses to account for familial predispositions that might confound the results. In the population analyses, maternal infections during pregnancy were associated with a modestly increased risk of ASD (19% higher), ADHD (14% higher), and MR (21% higher). However, these associations largely diminished in the sibling analyses, indicating that shared familial factors, such as genetics or environment, may be responsible for the increased risk rather than the infections themselves. In contrast, early childhood infections showed a more robust link to ASD (13% higher), ADHD (16% higher), tic disorders (12% higher), and MR (64% higher), with the associations for ASD and MR persisting even in sibling comparisons. This connection suggests that early childhood, particularly the first year of life, could be a critical period of vulnerability for developing certain neurodevelopmental disorders, with infections during this time possibly contributing directly to increased risk, especially for ASD and MR. These findings emphasize the need for further investigation into how infections during sensitive developmental periods impact long-term brain health.
