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Narrowly Versus Broadly Defined Autism Spectrum Disorders: Differences in Pre- and Perinatal Risk Factors

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Abstract

This study examined the differential contribution of pre- and perinatal risks in narrowly versus broadly defined autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and across core symptom domains, IQ and co-morbid problems. Children with a DSM-IV diagnosis of autistic disorder (AD) (n = 121) or pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) (n = 75) were compared to a typical control sample (n = 311). Diagnoses were based on extensive assessments between 12 and 49 months of age (M = 33.3, SD = 6.4) and re-evaluated at 43–98 months (M = 68.1, SD = 10.7) in 70 % of the cases. Compared with controls, cases with ASD were more likely to be firstborn and show a suboptimal condition after birth. Case mothers reported more infections and more stress during pregnancy. Although the ASD subgroups showed mostly overlapping risks, cases with PDD-NOS differed from those with AD by higher exposure to smoking during pregnancy (SDP) and by a negative association of smoking with IQ, regardless of confounders. SDP appears to contribute more to broadly defined (PDD-NOS) than to narrowly defined ASD (AD). Findings suggest differences in etiological contributors between ASD phenotypes.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all the children and parents who participated in this study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Karakter Child and Adolescent Psychiatry University Center, Reinier Postlaan 12, 6525 GC, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Janne C. Visser, Nanda Rommelse, Lianne Vink, Margo Schrieken, Iris J. Oosterling, Rutger J. van der Gaag & Jan K. Buitelaar

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Radboud UMC Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Nanda Rommelse, Rutger J. van der Gaag & Jan K. Buitelaar

  3. Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University UMC Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Nanda Rommelse & Jan K. Buitelaar

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  1. Janne C. Visser
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  2. Nanda Rommelse
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  3. Lianne Vink
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  4. Margo Schrieken
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  6. Rutger J. van der Gaag
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  7. Jan K. Buitelaar
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Correspondence to Janne C. Visser.

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Visser, J.C., Rommelse, N., Vink, L. et al. Narrowly Versus Broadly Defined Autism Spectrum Disorders: Differences in Pre- and Perinatal Risk Factors. J Autism Dev Disord 43, 1505–1516 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1678-6

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