Correlations between the Pervasive Developmental Scale of the CBCL measured at age 2 years and AQ and age 19–20 years in 760 individuals.

<p>Correlations for females (n = 400) are above the diagonal, and correlations for males (n = 360) are below the diagonal.</p><p>*p<.006.</p

Characteristics of the participant sample.

<p>Characteristics of the participant sample.</p

Histograms of scores on the Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDP) scale of the Child Behaviour Checklist obtained in early childhood (transformed using cumulative frequency z-scores).

<p>Total sample size is 760 (males = 360; females = 400).</p

Stability of high-levels (≥80^th centile) of Total, Social and Nonsocial AT from toddlerhood (PDP scale of the CBCL) to adulthood (Autism Quotient) among males (N = 360).

<p>The numbers of cases are presented in each cell with proportions in parentheses.</p

Non-parametric correlations, Spearman’s rho, between cerebral lateralisation for language production and different handedness measures for the full sample (n = 57) are presented in the cells above the diagonal; the 95% confidence intervals of the correlations are in the cells below the diagonal.

<p>∧<i>p</i><.1;</p>*<p><i>p</i><.05;</p>**<p><i>p</i><.01.</p

Crosstabulation of participants’ cerebral lateralisation for language, based on LIs and 95% confidence intervals, as a function of handedness as derived from the full Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. Participant numbers are presented, with proportion of participants within each handedness category in parentheses.

<p>Crosstabulation of participants’ cerebral lateralisation for language, based on LIs and 95% confidence intervals, as a function of handedness as derived from the full Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. Participant numbers are presented, with proportion of participants within each handedness category in parentheses.</p

Descriptive statistics.

<p>Descriptive statistics.</p

Associations between hand preference measures and cerebral lateralisation for language production.

<p>Scatterplots of performance on the short version of the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (top right panel), Peg-moving task (lower left panel), and Quantification of Hand Preference task (QHP; lower right panel) on the y-axis and cerebral lateralisation for language production as indicated by the lateralisation index (LI) as derived from functional transcranial Doppler ultrasound (fTCD) on the x-axis.</p

Androgen Concentrations in Umbilical Cord Blood and Their Association with Maternal, Fetal and Obstetric Factors

<div><p>The aim of this study was to measure umbilical blood androgen concentrations in a birth cohort using a highly specific liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assay and assesses the effects of sex, labor, and gestational age on fetal androgen levels at birth. We performed a prospective cohort study of androgen concentrations in mixed arterial and venous umbilical cord serum from 803 unselected singleton pregnancies from a general obstetric population in Western Australia. Total testosterone (TT), Δ4-androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone were extracted from archived cord serum samples and measured using LC-MS/MS. SHBG was measured by ELISA; free testosterone (FT) and bioavailable testosterone (BioT) values were also calculated. Median values for all three androgens were generally lower than previously published values. Levels of TT, FT, BioT, and SHBG were significantly higher in male verses female neonates (P<0.0001), while dehydroepiandrosterone levels were higher in females (P<0.0001). Labor was associated with a significant (∼15–26%) decrease in median cord blood TT and FT levels (both sexes combined), but a modest (∼16–31%) increase in SHBG, Δ4-androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone concentrations. TT and FT were significantly negatively correlated with gestational age at delivery, while SHBG, Δ4-androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone were positively correlated. Antenatal glucocorticoid administration also had a significant effect in the multiple regression models. This is the first study to report umbilical cord androgen levels in a large unselected population of neonates using LC-MS/MS. Our findings suggest that previous studies have over-estimated cord androgen levels, and that fetal, maternal, and obstetric factors influence cord androgen levels differentially. Caution should be exercised when interpreting previously-published data that have not taken all of these factors into account.</p> </div

Linear regression analysis of the relationships between gestational age at delivery and cord blood androgen and SHBG concentrations in 803 neonates (males and females combined).

<p>The linear regression coefficients (R²) are indicated on each graph. All correlations remained statistically significant (<i>P</i><0.0001) after controlling for obstetric factors.</p