scholarly journals Sibling comparison designs, are they worth the effort?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Frisell
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Prenatal Exposure ◽  
Maternal Smoking ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Confidence Limits ◽  
Causal Association ◽  
Full Cohort ◽  
Sibling Pairs ◽  
Sibling Comparison

Abstract The paper by Dr von Ehrenstein et al (Am J Epidemiol. 2020;000(00):000–000) adds to the large and growing literature on the potentially causal association between prenatal exposure to maternal smoking and neuropsychiatric health. In addition to statewide, prospectively collected data, a particular strength was their ability to perform a sibling comparison design, contrasting the rate of autism spectrum disorder in siblings discordantly exposed to maternal smoking. Unfortunately, the estimate from the sibling pairs could neither confirm nor refute the conclusions based on the full cohort. Interpretation was hampered by broad confidence limits, and even had power been higher, the authors acknowledge a range of potential biases that would have made it difficult to draw any firm conclusions from a similarity or difference in the sibling pair estimate and estimate from the full cohort. Was the addition of the sibling comparison actually worth the effort? In this commentary, I will briefly summarize the benefits and limitations of this design, and, with some caveats, argue that its inclusion in the study by Dr von Ehrenstein et al. was indeed a strength and not just an ornamentation.

scholarly journals Maternal Prenatal Smoking and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Offspring: a California Statewide Cohort and Sibling Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ondine S von Ehrenstein ◽  
Xin Cui ◽  
Qi Yan ◽  
Hilary Aralis ◽  
Beate Ritz
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
Maternal Smoking ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Prenatal Smoking ◽  
Full Cohort ◽  
Heavy Smoking ◽  
Sibling Comparison

Abstract We examined associations between maternal smoking and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children in a statewide population-based cohort and sibling comparison design using California birth records (n=2,015,104) with information on maternal smoking, demographics and pregnancy (2007-2010). ASD cases (n=11,722) were identified through California Department of Developmental Services records with diagnoses based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV-R. We estimated odds ratios (OR) for ASD with/without intellectual disability in the full cohort using logistic regression, and conditional logistic regression in a sibling comparison. In the full cohort, the adjusted OR for ASD and maternal smoking 3-months before/during pregnancy compared to non-smoking was 1.15 (95%CI: 1.04, 1.26), and was similar in cases with (OR=1.12, 95%CI: 0.84, 1.49) and without intellectual disability (OR=1.15, 95%CI: 1.04, 1.27); heavy prenatal smoking (20+ cigarettes/day in any trimester) was related to 58% risk increase (95%CI: 23%, 101%). In the sibling comparison, the OR for heavy smoking was similarly elevated but the CI was wide. Our findings are consistent with an increased risk for ASD in offspring of mothers who smoked 20+ cigarettes/day during pregnancy; associations with lighter smoking were weaker.

scholarly journals In Silico Exploration of the Potential Role of Acetaminophen and Pesticides in the Etiology of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Toxics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
Tristan Furnary ◽  
Rolando Garcia-Milian ◽  
Zeyan Liew ◽  
Shannon Whirledge ◽  
Vasilis Vasiliou
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Prenatal Exposure ◽  
Pesticide Exposure ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Biomedical Literature ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Genetic Associations ◽  
Increased Risk

Recent epidemiological studies suggest that prenatal exposure to acetaminophen (APAP) is associated with increased risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 1 in 59 children in the US. Maternal and prenatal exposure to pesticides from food and environmental sources have also been implicated to affect fetal neurodevelopment. However, the underlying mechanisms for ASD are so far unknown, likely with complex and multifactorial etiology. The aim of this study was to explore the potential effects of APAP and pesticide exposure on development with regards to the etiology of ASD by highlighting common genes and biological pathways. Genes associated with APAP, pesticides, and ASD through human research were retrieved from molecular and biomedical literature databases. The interaction network of overlapping genetic associations was subjected to network topology analysis and functional annotation of the resulting clusters. These genes were over-represented in pathways and biological processes (FDR p < 0.05) related to apoptosis, metabolism of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and carbohydrate metabolism. Since these three biological processes are frequently implicated in ASD, our findings support the hypothesis that cell death processes and specific metabolic pathways, both of which appear to be targeted by APAP and pesticide exposure, may be involved in the etiology of ASD. This novel exposures-gene-disease database mining might inspire future work on understanding the biological underpinnings of various ASD risk factors.

scholarly journals Prenatal exposure to phthalates and autism spectrum disorder in the MARBLES study

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyeong-Moo Shin ◽  
Rebecca J. Schmidt ◽  
Daniel Tancredi ◽  
Jacqueline Barkoski ◽  
Sally Ozonoff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Prenatal Exposure ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder

Maternal SSRI exposure increases the risk of autistic offspring: A meta-analysis and systematic review

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 161-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Andalib ◽  
M.R. Emamhadi ◽  
S. Yousefzadeh-Chabok ◽  
S.K. Shakouri ◽  
P.F. Høilund-Carlsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Prenatal Exposure ◽  
Odds Ratio ◽  
Serotonin Reuptake ◽  
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors ◽  
Spectrum Disorder

AbstractBackground:Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most common antidepressants used to preclude maternal pregnancy depression. There is a growing body of literature assessing the association of prenatal exposure to SSRIs with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present systematic review and meta-analysis reviewed the medical literature and pooled the results of the association of prenatal exposure to SSRIs with ASD.Methods:Published investigations in English by June 2016 with keywords of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, SSRI, autism spectrum disorder, ASD, pregnancy, childhood, children, neurodevelopment were identified using databases PubMed and PMC, MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCOPUS, and Google Scholar. Cochran's Q statistic-value (Q), degree of freedom (df), and I2 indices (variation in odds ratio [OR] attributable to heterogeneity) were calculated to analyze the risk of heterogeneity of the within- and between-study variability. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were reported by a Mantel–Haenszel test.Results:There was a non-significant heterogeneity for the included studies ([Q = 3.61, df = 6, P = 0.730], I2 = 0%). The pooled results showed a significant association between prenatal SSRI exposure and ASD (OR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.59–2.10, Z = 8.49, P = 0.00).Conclusion:The evidence from the present study suggests that prenatal exposure to SSRIs is associated with a higher risk of ASD.

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