Parents are very much concerned over the risk of their children developing autism right after their babies are born. However, according to a latest study, mothers must be wary of pre-pregnancy obesity and diabetes as this could lead to an increased risk of autism in children later on.
A study conducted by a group of doctors at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore revealed that the risk of children to develop autism by the age of six is four times higher if their mothers were both obese and diabetic prior to pregnancy.
Children born of mothers who only had pre-pregnancy obesity had a somewhat lower risk; the same goes for those who only had diabetes without the associated obesity.
Yahoo News reported the result was based on closely monitoring the autism rates in 2,700 children up to age six. Not only did the researchers looked at the risk of autism, but they also monitored the intellectual abilities of the children.
The study reviewed the pre-pregnancy weights of the mothers and their medical history to find out any occurrence of diabetes. Interviews were also conducted to arrive at an accurate and determinative result.
Among the 2,700 children involved, it was found that by age six, 102 of them had autism, while 137 of them had intellectual disabilities. There was a higher rate of autism and intellectual disabilities in children born of mothers who had both obesity and diabetes before pregnancy.
According to M. Daniele Fallin, the study author, this "highlights the potential that autism starts before birth, in utero." She pointed out that one mechanism which might be the culprit behind the development of autism from womb is related to folate supplementation. Women who are obese reduces the body's ability to make use of folate, increasing the risk of autism of their unborn babies.
With these findings, doctors, more specifically obstetricians and gynecologists, can now make use of the electronic medical records of mothers to help them determine the risk of autism for the fetus, as per Science Daily report. This will also help women who want to have babies to be more careful with their health before pregnancy.
