A prospective study of fetal head growth, autistic traits and autism spectrum disorder.

ABSTRACT: Altered trajectories of brain growth are often reported in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), particularly during the first year of life. However, less is known about prenatal head growth trajectories, and no study has examined the relation with postnatal autistic symptom severity. The current study prospectively examined the association between fetal head growth and the spectrum of autistic symptom severity in two large population-based cohorts, including a sample of individuals with clinically diagnosed ASD. This study included 3,820 children from two longitudinal prenatal cohorts in The Netherlands and Australia, comprising 60 individuals with a confirmed diagnosis of ASD. Latent growth curve models were used to examine the relationship between fetal head circumference measured at three di

SUBMITTER: Blanken LME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5947578 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature