Inflammation During Early Pregnancy Raises Autism Risk in Kids

A new study has linked inflammation during early pregnancy to autism risk in kids.

Researchers found this in children of mothers with elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), a well-established marker of systemic inflammation.

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The risk of autism among children in the study was increased by 43 percent among mothers with CRP levels in the top 20th percentile, and by 80 percent for maternal CRP in the top 10th percentile.

The findings add to mounting evidence that an overactive immune response can alter the development of the central nervous system in the fetus.

"Elevated CRP is a signal that the body is undergoing a response to inflammation from, for example, a viral or bacterial infection," said lead scientist on the study, Alan Brown, M.D., professor of clinical psychiatry and epidemiology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York State Psychiatric Institute, and Mailman School of Public Health.

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"The higher the level of CRP in the mother, the greater the risk of autism in the child."

Brown cautioned that the results should be viewed in perspective since the prevalence of inflammation during pregnancy is substantially higher than the prevalence of autism.

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"The vast majority of mothers with increased CRP levels will not give birth to children with autism," Brown said. "We don't know enough yet to suggest routine testing of pregnant mothers for CRP for this reason alone; however, exercising precautionary measures to prevent infections during pregnancy may be of considerable value."

"The brain develops rapidly throughout pregnancy," said Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., director of NIEHS, which funds a broad portfolio of autism and neurodevelopmental-related research. "This has important implications for understanding how the environment and our genes interact to cause autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders."

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The study has been published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Source-ANI