Association between overweight/obesity in parents and autism spectrum disorders in offspring

Abstract:

Objective To study the association between overweight/obesity in parents before maternal pregnancy and the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in offspring. Methods A total of 36 children who were diagnosed with ASD (ASD group) and 72 normal children matched for sex and age (control group) were enrolled. A questionnaire survey was performed to collect the general information, including body height and body weight of parents before maternal pregnancy and maternal weight gain during pregnancy. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the association between overweight/obesity in parents before maternal pregnancy and ASD in offspring. Results The ASD group had a significantly higher detection rate of overweight/obesity in the father than the control group (56% vs 32%; P=0.018) before maternal pregnancy. The univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that overweight/obesity of the father before maternal pregnancy was a risk factor for ASD in offspring (OR=2.66 and 2.58 respectively; P < 0.05). Conclusions Overweight/obesity of the father before maternal pregnancy is an independent risk factor for ASD in offspring, and therefore, it is important for the father to control his body mass index within the normal range before maternal pregnancy.