A new cohort analysis of nearly 115,000 births debunks the theory that preterm birth alone leads to autism spectrum disorder.
Contrary to previous research and popular belief, premature birth alone does not lead to autism.
A new study out of Israel shows there is no significant link between premature birth and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), reaffirming that the exact cause of autism is much more complex.
The study, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, initially found a strong link between preterm birth and autism. However, after considering other factors, including ethnicity, maternal age, and the size and sex of the infant, the significant association vanished.
The findings were presented during The Pregnancy Meeting, an annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine on Feb. 14.
Researchers looked at records from hospitals and community clinics for almost 115,000 deliveries in Israel between 2005 and 2017. The data included mothers and infants who were Jewish, Muslim, and Bedouin, a Muslim minority group. Just over 93 percent of the births were delivered at term, defined as 37 weeks or more. Only 1.2 percent were preterm, while 6 percent were late- or moderately late-term.
Rather than preterm birth being linked to autism, the research team believes that multiple factors likely account for a child developing the developmental condition.
“The exact cause of autism is complex,” Dr. Sapir Ellouk, lead author of the study, said in a press release. “But based on our data, a single obstetric factor is unlikely to be the cause of ASD. A more plausible theory involves the simultaneous presence of multiple factors.”
Research into the cause of autism, particularly research aimed at investigating the possible link between preterm birth and autism, has been controversial.
Some previous studies have suggested that preterm birth can increase the risk of a child developing autism substantially and that the risk is correlated with the gestation period. One study found that eight in 657 (1.22 percent) preterm babies born before 28 weeks developed autism, while 80 of 13,108 preterm babies (0.61 percent) born between 33 and 38 weeks did.
However, even previous research noted that differences in sex and other environmental factors could potentially play a role in a child’s potential for developing the disorder.
By Amie Dahnke
