100 research outputs found
Predictors of language acquisition in preschool children with autism spectrum disorders
Journal of Autism and Developmental DisordersIn 118 children followed from age 2 to 5 (59
with autism, 24 with PDD-NOS and 35 with nonspectrum
developmental disabilities), age 2 and age 3
scores of non-verbal ability, receptive communication,
expressive communication and socialization were compared
as predictors of receptive and expressive language
at age 5. Non-verbal cognitive ability at age 2
was generally the strongest predictor of age 5 language,
while at age 3 communication scores were a stronger
predictor of age 5 language for children with autism.
Early joint attention as well as vocal and motor
imitation skills were more impaired in children who
did not develop language by age 5 (but had relatively
strong non-verbal cognitive skills) than in children who
did develop language by 5
Polymorphisms in estrogen-metabolizing and estrogen receptor genes and the risk of developing breast cancer among a cohort of women with benign breast disease
BACKGROUND: A cohort study was conducted to examine the role of genetic polymorphisms in three estrogen metabolizing enzymes (COMT, CYP1A1, CYP1B1) and the two estrogen receptors (ESR1, ESR2) in the progression of benign breast disease (BBD) to breast cancer. METHODS: Among participants in an ongoing cohort study, 1438 Caucasian women had a breast biopsy for BBD and were successfully genotyped for at least one of the polymorphisms examined in this study. Genotypes were determined using DNA extracted from blood specimens collected in 1989. Incident cases of breast cancer occurring subsequent to BBD diagnosis up to 2003 were identified through cancer registries. RESULTS: Among all participants, the ESR2 *5772G allele was associated with a significant decrease in the risk of breast cancer among women with BBD (Odds Ratio (OR) 0.38; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.15, 0.96). Compared to the reference wild-type genotypes, marginally significant associations with the development of breast cancer were observed between carriers of the variant ESR1 – 104062T allele (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.45, 1.09), the variant ESR2 *38A allele (OR 1.40; 95% CI 0.88, 2.25), and the variant CYP1B1 453Ser allele (OR 1.48, 95% CI 0.95, 2.32). CONCLUSION: The results indicate that specific polymorphisms in the CYP1B1, ESR1, and ESR2 genes may play a role in progression of BBD to breast cancer among Caucasian women. Although additional studies are needed to confirm or refute our findings, these results suggest that genetic markers may aid in the identification of women who are at risk for progression of BBD to cancer
Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders with and without Intellectual Disability by Gestational Age at Birth in the Stockholm Youth Cohort:a Register Linkage Study
BackgroundPreterm birth has been linked to increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), but how this risk changes with gestational age at birth has not been well characterised, especially with regard to co-occurring intellectual disability (ID).MethodsRegister-based cohort study of singleton births in 1984-2007 in Stockholm County, Sweden (N total: 480 728; n ASD: 10 025). We assessed overall and sex-specific, gestational week-specific prevalence estimates and risk ratios of ASD with and without ID.ResultsPreterm and postterm births were associated with elevated risk of ASD, and the relationship between gestational age at birth and ASD with and without ID differed in males and females. Risk of ASD without ID was higher in preterm births among both sexes and decreased continuously with increasing length of gestation. Risk of ASD with ID was higher in both preterm and postterm births among both sexes, with postterm birth in females being more highly associated with ASD with ID than that in males.ConclusionsThe relationship between gestational age at birth and ASD differs by the presence/absence of co-occurring ID and fetal sex. Both preterm and postterm birth are associated with increased risk of ASD. Risk of ASD is not constant within conventionally defined gestational age at birth periods. Further research on mechanism underlying these associations is needed
Antenatal nutritional supplementation and autism spectrum disorders in the Stockholm youth cohort:population based cohort study
Abstract
Objective
To determine whether nutritional supplementation during pregnancy is associated with a reduced risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with and without intellectual disability in offspring.
Design
Observational prospective cohort study using multivariable logistic regression, sibling controls, and propensity score matching.
Setting
Stockholm County, Sweden.
Participants
273 107 mother-child pairs identified through population registers. The study sample was restricted to children who were aged 4 to 15 years by the end of follow-up on 31 December 2011 and were born between 1996 and 2007.
Exposures
Multivitamin, iron, and folic acid supplement use was reported at the first antenatal visit.
Main outcome measure
Diagnosis of ASD with and without intellectual disability in children determined from register data up to 31 December 2011.
Results
Prevalence of ASD with intellectual disability was 0.26% (158 cases in 61 934) in the maternal multivitamin use group and 0.48% (430 cases in 90 480) in the no nutritional supplementation use group. Maternal multivitamin use with or without additional iron or folic acid, or both was associated with lower odds of ASD with intellectual disability in the child compared with mothers who did not use multivitamins, iron, and folic acid (odds ratio 0.69, 95% confidence interval 0.57 to 0.84). Similar estimates were found in propensity score matched (0.68, 0.54 to 0.86) and sibling control (0.77, 0.52 to 1.15) matched analyses, though the confidence interval for the latter association included 1.0 and was therefore not statistically significant. There was no consistent evidence that either iron or folic acid use were inversely associated with ASD prevalence.
Conclusions
Maternal multivitamin supplementation during pregnancy may be inversely associated with ASD with intellectual disability in offspring. Further scrutiny of maternal nutrition and its role in the cause of autism is recommended.
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Presence of an epigenetic signature of prenatal cigarette smoke exposure in childhood
Prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke has lifelong health consequences. Epigenetic signatures such as differences in DNA methylation (DNAm) may be a biomarker of exposure and, further, might have functional significance for how in utero tobacco exposure may influence disease risk. Differences in infant DNAm associated with maternal smoking during pregnancy have been identified. Here we assessed whether these infant DNAm patterns are detectible in early childhood, whether they are specific to smoking, and whether childhood DNAm can classify prenatal smoke exposure status. Using the Infinium 450 K array, we measured methylation at 26 CpG loci that were previously associated with prenatal smoking in infant cord blood from 572 children, aged 3–5, with differing prenatal exposure to cigarette smoke in the Study to Explore Early Development (SEED). Striking concordance was found between the pattern of prenatal smoking associated DNAm among preschool aged children in SEED and those observed at birth in other studies. These DNAm changes appear to be tobacco-specific. Support vector machine classification models and 10-fold cross-validation were applied to show classification accuracy for childhood DNAm at these 26 sites as a biomarker of prenatal smoking exposure. Classification models showed prenatal exposure to smoking can be assigned with 81% accuracy using childhood DNAm patterns at these 26 loci. These findings support the potential for blood-derived DNAm measurements to serve as biomarkers for prenatal exposure
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