Obese mom in pregnancy = Child with Autism???

[DianeW88]

A new study has just been released. http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/09/11061081-obese-moms-may-be-more-likely-to-have-autistic-child-study-suggests?lite

 

I think a lot more research is needed, but I can see how diabetes and high blood pressure could cause problems for a fetus. I would be interested to see if normal weight mothers who are diabetic (Type 1) have a higher incidence of autistic children, or if this only seems to be happening with Type 2 diabetes.

 

I hope someone is willing to do extensive research in this area, because I think that possibly some cases of autism could be prevented if these theories hold up under rigorous scientific scrutiny. I also think there are MANY causes and factors contributing to autism and certainly not all cases would be prevented, even if this theory does pan out. And it definitely needs more work and examination than this one study.

[Crimson Wife]

I'm not buying it, because my DD is in an autism preschool class, and all of the moms except one are normal weight or thin. If anything, that is a lower maternal obesity rate than the typical preschool.

[Parrothead]

It might be a cause, but not the cause. I only know two moms with autistic kids. Both moms are normal weight.

[MelAR05]

I'm curious about this too. I was obese with 2 of 3 of my pregnancies and overweight with the other. Never have gestational diabetes or high blood pressure with any of the pregnancies. No autism here.

 

 

ETA: My husband was over 40 with all 3 children and we had fertility treatments to get pregnant with our first child.

Edited April 9, 2012 by MelAR05
additional information

[Night Elf]

Well, that doesn't apply to me, thank goodness. I've certainly had times where I've cried about my son's diagnosis and wondered what I had done to cause this life long condition. I can't imagine actually finding out it was something I had caused that I could have prevented. I would be devastated.

[raceNzanesmom]

I agree with Crimson Wife. I've worked with several autistic kids and none have had overweight, much less obese, moms.

 

ETA: I also know plenty of obese moms, myself included, that don't have autistic kids. And the two moms I know personally that have type 1 diabetes don't have autistic kids.

Edited April 9, 2012 by raceNzanesmom

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Didn't read the link, but I know a few kids with autism, and none of their moms were ever overweight.

[MeaganS]

I was just reading that. Combined with the older father study that just came out, there have been a lot of "links" found lately.

 

They've sort of been making me feel like my daughter is an anomaly. My husband was 24 when she was born (so not older than 40). I was not overweight, and she is high-functioning, which according to another article I recently read is also very rare in girls with autism (although that might be a diagnostic issue). We defy all the odds!

 

I'm glad that they're trying to find out the causes though. It is a really important subject right now, and it is all so baffling.

[Soror]

Well, I know only 2 autistic kids, both with obese moms. The way I'm reading this is not that all obese moms have autistic kids or not all autistic kids have obese moms. I'd be interested to read follow up studies looking more closely at what about obesity or any other correlations there might be.

[amy g.]

We defy the odds here too with our high functioning daughter. Dh and I were both 28 when she was born. I was very thin. None of our other children have even the tiniest hint of autistic characteristics.

 

When we conceived her, we had just come off of several years of infertility treatments. I didn't ovulate until day 30 of that cycle, so I've always thought that her problems might have been due to poor egg quality.

 

I think of autism as a symptom, like maybe a limp. It can be caused by so many different things, but look the same in how it manifests.

 

That is why some things that "cure" one person's autism have no effect on someone else.

[ocelotmom]

I agree with Crimson Wife. I've worked with several autistic kids and none have had overweight, much less obese, moms.

 

ETA: I also know plenty of obese moms, myself included, that don't have autistic kids. And the two moms I know personally that have type 1 diabetes don't have autistic kids.

 

The article and the study are not saying "obese moms all have autistic kids" or "all autistic kids have obese moms" - it's saying that obese mothers have a significantly higher incidence of having a kid with autism. If the autism rate is 1 in 83, and the risk is double for obese mothers, or about 1 in 42 (still very good odds of having a neurotypical kid), while the risk for non-obese mothers would presumably be somewhat lower than 1 in 83, but not nonexistant.

 

It's also a correlation. Correlation is not causation. You can't look at those results and blame the obese people for giving their kids autism (not that I think anyone here is saying that) because it's not clear that there is a causitive link.

 

For example, maybe some difference in metabolism both predisposes people to obesity and/ or T2 diabetes and contributes to the development of autism.

[DianeW88]

I don't think the study is saying that ALL obese moms will have a child with autism....only that it may be a factor in SOME cases.

 

I also don't think they're drawing the conclusion that all women of normal weight will NOT have an autistic child.

 

Just that it might be a factor that needs further investigation.

 

FWIW...I've seen plenty of women with autistic children who are normal weight and plenty of obese women with non-autistic children. I do hope they continue doing research...the rates are rising and we have no definitive reason why. In the practice I worked in....MANY more autistic children are being seen now than 20 years ago. If the trend continues this way...the amount of children diagnosed with autism in the future will be staggering.

[usetoschool]

I was quite overweight with all four of my kids and my husband was over 40 for the last one but no autism here. I even had pre-eclampsia with the first, but no diabetes of any kind.

 

I have only known 3 people with autism spectrum kids and none was overweight or over age.

 

I am glad they are looking though and hopefully soon they will come up with some concrete answers.

 

And I don't recall who in a previous post mentioned they didn't fit this profile and was so glad that they didn't do something that could have caused the autism - :grouphug: - it seems heartbreaking enough to have a child struggle. I can't imagine thinking you might have caused it. So glad you didn't fit the profile.

[dirty ethel rackham]

The article and the study are not saying "obese moms all have autistic kids" or "all autistic kids have obese moms" - it's saying that obese mothers have a significantly higher incidence of having a kid with autism. If the autism rate is 1 in 83, and the risk is double for obese mothers, or about 1 in 42 (still very good odds of having a neurotypical kid), while the risk for non-obese mothers would presumably be somewhat lower than 1 in 83, but not nonexistant.

 

It's also a correlation. Correlation is not causation. You can't look at those results and blame the obese people for giving their kids autism (not that I think anyone here is saying that) because it's not clear that there is a causitive link.

 

For example, maybe some difference in metabolism both predisposes people to obesity and/ or T2 diabetes and contributes to the development of autism.

 

:iagree: Thanks for being a voice of reason. Correlation is not causation. It just means we have another avenue to research. Stepping on my soap box ... this is why we NEED good science education as well as logic training in this country... to prevent people from making these leaps in logic. (Not blaming the OP, but the poor quality medical reporting that goes on in this country.)

[wapiti]

. 

 

Edited May 11, 2015 by wapiti

[sbgrace]

I've always been underweight and my son is on the spectrum (ONE son of a set of fraternal twins FWIW which is actually quite common; not so with identical twins).

 

It's a chicken egg thing of course when they find links like this.

 

They are doing so many gene studies right now. We saw genetics last week and he told me they are very close to be able to do a test to identify which specific gene or genes cause autism in a particular child. I thought most identified were paternal in origin and that is probably why they found the father age link (perhaps age leads to more genetic issues in sperm).

 

So do overweight moms have more genetic issues too or does it somehow trigger some of genetic glitches passed on by a father?

 

Autism is more common if fertility treatment is used. Could the increase the study found be due to moms who have fertility issues (like PCOS) due to their weight? Is the real gene trigger fertility drugs? Or, alternatively, is the real trigger weight and the fertility findings are incidental? Something else? Do the children affected in these studies have gene findings passed on paternally (very likely in my understanding) or maternally?

 

I think it's all interesting! But I'm absolutely certain that autism is very often a play between genetic changes that cause susceptibility and the gene's specific environmental trigger or triggers. What gene(s) of about a 1000 they've found and what environmental triggers is going to vary widely from child to child. So I would not expect maternal weight to be a trigger in all or even most cases. FWIW, finding of much less concordance (both diagnosed) in fraternal versus identical twins makes it clear there are genes involved and not just pregnancy factors.

[Stacy in NJ]

I'm not buying it, because my DD is in an autism preschool class, and all of the moms except one are normal weight or thin. If anything, that is a lower maternal obesity rate than the typical preschool.

 

as does early intervention.

 

Those of higher socio-economic status are less likely to be obese (they're thinner). And, those of higher socio-economic status are more likely to receive early intervention and early diagnosis for autism.

 

My guess is that the population that your dd's pre-school serves is of higher than average status. Therefore, your observation can't be generalized to the larger population.

[Stacy in NJ]

The article and the study are not saying "obese moms all have autistic kids" or "all autistic kids have obese moms" - it's saying that obese mothers have a significantly higher incidence of having a kid with autism. If the autism rate is 1 in 83, and the risk is double for obese mothers, or about 1 in 42 (still very good odds of having a neurotypical kid), while the risk for non-obese mothers would presumably be somewhat lower than 1 in 83, but not nonexistant.

 

It's also a correlation. Correlation is not causation. You can't look at those results and blame the obese people for giving their kids autism (not that I think anyone here is saying that) because it's not clear that there is a causitive link.

For example, maybe some difference in metabolism both predisposes people to obesity and/ or T2 diabetes and contributes to the development of autism.

 

All this study posits is that there may be a correlation NOT causation. The Obesity exists but it doesn't necessarily cause the autism. There maybe other correlations as well.

[pdalley]

Next up - breathing while pregnant causes autism. :tongue_smilie:

 

Sorry, my family tree is full of autistics - Pre Civil war. There were some obese mothers, older fathers, younger fathers, younger mothers, etc. One of mine was an induction with pitocin - the other two were natural. I delayed and spaced out vaxes for the youngest. They are all still autistic. We did GFCF for a solid year. They are still autistic. They've had therapies to help them but they are still autistic.

 

There are a huge number of factors that could explain why the rates are rising. More diagnosis of more kids - even kids that in previous era were just considered quirky, and all the things that can cause autistic like symptoms but when removed seemingly 'cure' the autism.

 

My kids are autistic. I would likely be diagnosed in this day and age. I couldn't have prevented it nor quite frankly would I have wanted to. This is the way we are wired. Every human on the planet has struggles and obstacles. Ours aren't any worse or any easier because they have a label - they just are. We've also got marvelous gifts we probably wouldn't have if we were 'typical'.

 

Can you tell I really hate this month of the year? I think there is plenty of Autism awareness already. I'm tired of people pitying me because my kids are autistic. Last time I checked everybody has something to deal with.

 

Sorry for the rant. I've had two deaths in four months in my family and I'm getting pity overload from people in real life. They mean well but I'm just not dealing well with it.

[MomatHWTK]

In my totally non-scientific opinion, having a child with several different conditions, there is always some study out there somewhere that will conclude that it's the mom's fault. Apparently we don't have enough guilt without some scientist out there seeking to add to it. :glare:

[JeneralMom]

It also says "obese while pregnant" so looking at their weight before pregnancy and after is not a good correlation. Personally, I really wish they had linked to the original study or at least mentioned when/where it would be published. As a geneticist I would find their methodology and actual outcomes (not those reported by news agencies) much more interesting than this snippet.

[Celia]

Ugh. This adds to my guilt of wondering if it was something I had done... but I am happy that they have perhaps found a contributing factor if it can help with prevention.

[Dmmetler]

I know several very overweight mothers who had high blood pressure during pregnancy who have completely neurotypical children, two moms who had severe hypertensive disorders during pregnancy (who were not overweight to start with-although gaining over 100 lbs, as I did while pregnant with DD (of which about 80 lbs vanished within about 2 days of delivery) certainly makes you LOOK morbidly obese by the end of the pregnancy!) who have gifted kids who are not ID'd ASD (although both are definitely quirky-there are days when I really, really question my DD's "not ASD, not ADHD, just gifted" DX), and three moms who have ASD kids who were not overweight while pregnant and had completely normal pregnancies. I'm sure that any pregnancy trauma and stress could contribute (I've noticed a correlation between problem pregnancies and HG+ kids on some of my HG+ parenting boards, and the like between HG+ and "Smart with Aspergers" seems very fine indeed) but I don't think it's the only piece of the puzzle, and I think that it could easily turn into another form of blaming the parent. Parents of kids with ASDs already have a rough enough road to hoe. They don't deserve to feel guilty because of their weight or because of pregnancy issues like gestational diabetes or Pregnancy-induced hypertension on top of everything else.

[justamouse]

I think the link is going to be found with the inflammatory aspects of diabetes (and there can be inflammation without diabetes). They are calling Alzheimer the 'Diabetes' of the brain (and those with diabetes have a huge risk of developing it), so to have this inflammation pass from the mother to the brain of the growing child seems easy.

[itsheresomewhere]

I think the only reason this study made the headlines is that we have a "war" on obesity. Otherwise, if the headline had said 80% of children who have autism had moms who were of normal weight.

 

I was of normal weight with both and only DS has autism.

[butterflymommy]

It's also a correlation. Correlation is not causation. You can't look at those results and blame the obese people for giving their kids autism (not that I think anyone here is saying that) because it's not clear that there is a causitive link.

 

Perhaps women carrying the genes for autism are more likely to be obese for some other reason. I also recently read about a study linking a virus to obesity, so who knows, maybe there is a viral link (fevers during pregnancy maybe?)? Just hypothesizing.

[raceNzanesmom]

1 in 88 kids are on the spectrum. I think we need to be looking beyond fat moms. Sorry.

 

My issue is with the medical/political community in general. I'm not bashing any one study.

[Kathryn]

I'm very skeptical of all the "links" to autism being found lately. I'm technically underweight and had no complications in pregnancy or birth. I think my son's autism is genetic. My half-sister was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, and my mother, grandfather, one cousin, and probably myself would easily be diagnosed AS/HFA.

[Crimson Wife]

as does early intervention.

 

Those of higher socio-economic status are less likely to be obese (they're thinner). And, those of higher socio-economic status are more likely to receive early intervention and early diagnosis for autism.

 

My guess is that the population that your dd's pre-school serves is of higher than average status. Therefore, your observation can't be generalized to the larger population.

 

I'd agree with this except I know plenty of upper-middle-class and affluent moms who do struggle with their weight.

 

Now you may be onto something about the type of mom who pursues Early Intervention services. It would not at all surprise me to learn that moms who have a conscientious (dare I say a bit neurotic ;)) personality are more likely to watch their weight and at the same time be pushy about getting services for their children.

[Stacy in NJ]

weight and socio-economics aren't just observations. They are statistical, measureable facts.

 

They correlate to education as well. Those with degrees are less likely to stuggle with weight and more likely to earn above median income. They are more likely to seek early intervention because service seeking correlates to educational level. Service seeking doesn't correlate to conscientiousness; it correlates to system usage (i.e. people with high levels of trust in professional services and the skill at manuvering within the system).

 

By the way, they all correlate to measures of the ability to delay gratification.

 

So, when you observe a group of parents at an early intervention pre-school, you are statistically seeing:

 

1.higher educational level

2.higher than median family income

3.higher trust level in government or professional services

4.lower weight

 

I'd agree with this except I know plenty of upper-middle-class and affluent moms who do struggle with their weight.

 

Now you may be onto something about the type of mom who pursues Early Intervention services. It would not at all surprise me to learn that moms who have a conscientious (dare I say a bit neurotic ;)) personality are more likely to watch their weight and at the same time be pushy about getting services for their children.

[Mergath]

Interesting. My dd has a genetic deletion that actually does cause autism- one in three kids with this deletion will develop autism- and one of the things that tends to happen in adults that have it is obesity. I can't help wondering if that may play a role here, at least in part. The deletion tends to cause worse problems as it gets passed on, from what I was told, so a NT parent with it might not be aware of it until it's passed on to the child, who then develops autism.

 

It's interesting though. I was overweight during my pregnancy (though not obese) and had severe preeclampsia at the end that necessitated an emergency c-section. Even with all that and her genetic disorder, dd never did develop autism.

[StephanieZ]

Well, that would be a good explanation for why autism has increased so much in recent decades.

[elizabeth]

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/public_health/138423739.html You are all fairly youthful so it might be earlier than when you were aware of it but for decades the establishment blamed emotionally distant mothers for autism. How cruel and heartbreaking that old habits die hard. Ignorance and misogyny rule the day. I assure you that if studies showed that slim, fit mothers had a statistically significant higher rate of autism in their children that study would never see the light of day. I encourage every person to examine the ways in which this is so. The insurance industry has a lobby ,heavy people tend to cost health insurance companies a small fortune so lay blame where it serves to alienate, isolate and blame the poor and unattractive or vulnerable. Some jackass MD BLAMED my nearly bleeding to death twice from menses that were out of control on my weight when I was 16. I weighed 160 and am 5'7". Chubby but not obese and I exercised constantly. Finally my father, also an MD ,decided that enough was enough and took me to a female gyno-endocrinologist. Thyroid and bc pills gave me my life back. As a lawyer I think it is paramount to always ask who benefits from x or y being accepted as truth. It is the most accurate bs detector and has not failed me yet.

[elizabeth]

weight and socio-economics aren't just observations. They are statistical, measureable facts.

 

They correlate to education as well. Those with degrees are less likely to stuggle with weight and more likely to earn above median income. They are more likely to seek early intervention because service seeking correlates to educational level. Service seeking doesn't correlate to conscientiousness; it correlates to system usage (i.e. people with high levels of trust in professional services and the skill at manuvering within the system).

 

By the way, they all correlate to measures of the ability to delay gratification.

 

So, when you observe a group of parents at an early intervention pre-school, you are statistically seeing:

 

1.higher educational level

2.higher than median family income

3.higher trust level in government or professional services

4.lower weight

 

So this ignores the government programs such as Head Start...this whole link indicates that all of your conclusions are debatable. http://www.advocacyoncall.org/education/early_intervention/

http://www.princeton.edu/~jcurrie/publications/Early_childhood_intervention.pdf

[JessReplanted]

I think the only reason this study made the headlines is that we have a "war" on obesity. Otherwise, if the headline had said 80% of children who have autism had moms who were of normal weight.

 

:iagree:

 

I saw this headline on msn.com today, and it just made me angry.

Please, let's blame the fat people (me included) for one more thing. :tongue_smilie:

It's just ridiculous.

[justamouse]

I don't think it's about 'fat' per se. I'm betting it's about insulin.

[angela in ohio]

I don't think it's about 'fat' per se. I'm betting it's about insulin.

 

They just did a story about this on our news, and this is exactly what they said. Insulin is inflammatory, and the higher levels of insulin cause the autism, they think.

 

I wish they would address the correlation vs. causation issue more, though. What is it that makes them think it isn't just correlation?

 

But they aren't saying they have found "the" cause. They are just working on the issue, and this is the latest finding. If anything, I think it is helpful to come at it from so many different directions. I really think there is more than one diagnosis, but they are currently all falling under the autism heading. Once we can tease each type out, treatment will progress for all.

 

Many of the mothers of children with autism whom I know are overweight, though.

[Stacy in NJ]

So this ignores the government programs such as Head Start...this whole link indicates that all of your conclusions are debatable. http://www.advocacyoncall.org/education/early_intervention/

http://www.princeton.edu/~jcurrie/publications/Early_childhood_intervention.pdf

 

Children are qualified to participate in an Early Intervention program based upon diagnosed/evaluated developmental delays. Children participating in Head Start qualify based upon socio-economic status and are typical neuro-typical. You're comparing apples to oranges.

[Holly IN]

I didn't read all the posting in this thread. This article or study just makes me sick.

 

I am not obesse. I am very thin but yet I have a child with HFA. Several friends of mine also have a child with autism and all of them are thin. I am tired of the so called experts trying to find ways to say its the moms fault. sigh!!!

 

So I am one of the odd ones. No obesity...very thin and fit. No diabetes either. I do have IBS.

 

Holly

[KirstenH]

My own anecdotal experience is that all of the autistic children I know have thin or average weight mothers. I don't know any obese mothers of autistic children.

[ma23peas]

Well, that would be a good explanation for why autism has increased so much in recent decades.

 

I believe that some are genetically predisposed but the obesuty is a trend not a cause. Technically, my weight was in the obese range with all three of my children, none have learning disabilities.

 

What I do see is that areas like San Francisco, Huntsville, AL have a marked increase of incidence with autism than other larger areas. They do have a high number of common threads...my inkling is all the chemicals (preservatives, drug residuals from prescriptions found in our 'treated' water systems, etc) those things not an issue 50 years ago...play a major role. Obese people probably have more of these preservatives/food enhancers built into their diet...I do know that of my friends who ban any unnatural additives...are all pretty thin...

 

These are just my musings, praying for an answer soon for these families!

[WishboneDawn]

Just wanted to point out that our anecdotal experiences in no way challenge the results of the study and give us no basis for agreeing with/objecting to those results. We could all post our experiences and it still wouldn't be valuable data.

[Guest Momnneed]

I am a tad late on commenting one this subject.

The idea the obesity is possible cause to autism is BOGUS. :confused:My son was speaking in sentences, aying alphabet, counting singing. Happy social little boy. Then got MMR vaccines. Yes I Know. High fever, hospital visit, and he no longer talked, no more eye contact, no singing nothing. Only playing with his tongue or playing with his Legos. He was never the same boy his doctor at first considered high functioning and advanced for his age. I was 5'8" tall and weight 127 lbs when I was pregnant with my son almost 140 the day I went in for delivery. So no forget about blaming obesity, I have more evidence to blame MMR

[Quiver0f10]

My son has been receiving OT/ST/PT for years and we have been at one place for 4 years. I have met a lot of moms with autistic children and do not agree with the study at all.

[ktgrok]

My only kid on the spectrum was my only pregnancy where I was normal weight. However, I would be willing to believe that nutritional issues could be a factor. I eat well even when fat, lol. And with him I was dieting when I got pregnant...so eating less.

[mommaduck]

Definitely NOT buying it! My husband had a skinny aunt. Two of her three children are autistic.

[godsaggie]

Hmmmm...very interesting. I was actually obese during all 4 of my pregnancies. I did not have gestational diabetes or anything other complications. All four of my children are perfectly normal...well except for the wild and crazy 3yo!

[jelbe5]

Well, I had gestational diabetes and high Bp for my girls, but NOT for my son. Guess who turned up with autism. I think this research is another attempt to grasp at straws.

[QueenCat]

I was thin when I got pregnant with ds. No diabetes or other health issues either.

[Susan in TN]

Well, that doesn't apply to me, thank goodness. I've certainly had times where I've cried about my son's diagnosis and wondered what I had done to cause this life long condition. I can't imagine actually finding out it was something I had caused that I could have prevented. I would be devastated.

 

Right. My pregnancies when I was obese w/GD and some high blood pressure turned out perfectly healthy children. My spectrum kids were normal pregnancies - weight and otherwise.