Risk Factors Of Autism

Objective: Autism is a serious neurodevelopmental disorder with a highly heterogeneous pathogenesis and its causes remain largely unknown. Both genetic and environmental factors are likely to contribute etiologically. However, it is difficult to determine how much these risk factors contributed to the pathogenesis of autism. The aim of the present study was to estimate the possible associations between autism and its risk factors in a large case-control analysis.Method: A retrospective case-control analysis was performed in 2 special autism schools in Qindao city. 138 children with autism (who meet DSM-Ⅳcriteria) and 138 randomly selected control children for this study from the normal school matched to the sex and age. We included genetic or environmental insults or epigenetic factors such as potential prenatal, perinatal, neonatal, developmental and family risk factors. We analyze the data by t-test,x~2 test and unconditional logistic regression models.Results: There were significant association between autism and culture level of parents (father:x~2=l8.17, P<0.01, OR=3.07; mother:x~2 =7.67, P<0.01, OR=2.02), threatened abortion( x~2= 16.66 ,P<0.01,OR=6.77), influenza(x~2 =11.50 , P<0.01,OR=3.43), pregnant week(x~2 =4.13 , P<0.05, OR=2.01).neonate suffocates (x~2=4.57 , P<0.05, OR=2.18), convulsions (x~2=12.13 , P<0.01, OR=2.90), hereditary disease history (x~2 =6.06 , P<0.05, OR= 10.70), mothers' character (x~2 =4.00, P<0.05, OR=1.97). No statistically significant group differences were detected in term of the other factors. These factors according to their contributive values were hereditary disease history, threatened abortion, fathers' culture level, abnormal pregnant week, mothers' character, respectively.Conclusion: These data suggested that the unfavorable events in pregnant, delivery, the neonatal and developmental phase increase the incidence of autism. We should take some effective to control these risk factors.