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Molecular Autism
Published in: Molecular Autism 1/2023

Open Access 01-12-2023 | Research

Is the association between mothers’ autistic traits and childhood autistic traits moderated by maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index?

Authors: Novika Purnama Sari, Alexandros Tsompanidis, Rama J. Wahab, Romy Gaillard, Ezra Aydin, Rosemary Holt, Carrie Allison, Simon Baron-Cohen, Marinus H. van IJzendoorn, Pauline W. Jansen

Published in: Molecular Autism | Issue 1/2023

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Abstract

Background

Previous studies showed that there is a positive association between mothers’ and children’s autistic traits. We also tested if this association is more pronounced in mothers with a higher pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI).

Method

The study was embedded in two cohorts with information available for 4,659 participants from the Generation R and for 179 participants from the Cambridge Ultrasound Siblings and Parents Project (CUSP) cohort. In both cohorts, maternal autistic traits were assessed using the short form of the Autism Spectrum Quotient, and information about maternal height and weight before pregnancy was obtained by questionnaire. Child autistic traits were assessed with the short form of Social Responsiveness Scale in Generation R (M = 13.5 years) and with the Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (Q-CHAT) in the CUSP cohort (M = 1.6 years).

Result

Higher maternal autistic traits were associated with higher autistic traits in toddlerhood (CUSP cohort; βadjusted = 0.20, p < 0.01), in early childhood (Generation R; βadjusted = 0.19, p < 0.01), and in early adolescence (Generation R; βadjusted = 0.16, p < 0.01). Furthermore, a higher maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was associated with higher child autistic traits, but only in Generation R (βadjusted = 0.03, p < 0.01). There was no significant moderating effect of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI on the association between autistic traits of mothers and children, neither in Generation R nor in CUSP. In addition, child autistic traits scores were significantly higher in mothers who were underweight and in mothers who were overweight compared to mothers with a healthy weight.

Conclusion

We confirm the association between maternal and child autistic traits in toddlerhood, early childhood, and early adolescence. Potential interacting neurobiological processes remain to be confirmed.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Is the association between mothers’ autistic traits and childhood autistic traits moderated by maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index?
Authors
Novika Purnama Sari
Alexandros Tsompanidis
Rama J. Wahab
Romy Gaillard
Ezra Aydin
Rosemary Holt
Carrie Allison
Simon Baron-Cohen
Marinus H. van IJzendoorn
Pauline W. Jansen
Publication date
01-12-2023
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Molecular Autism / Issue 1/2023
Electronic ISSN: 2040-2392
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-023-00578-x

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