Women With Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome More Likely To Have Children With Autism

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) may increase the risk of autism in offspring, according to a recent study.

Researchers studied 23,748 children with ASD born in Sweden between 1984 and 2007. Then, they compared them to 208,796 controls. Findings showed that maternal PCOS increased the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by 59 percent. The risk was heightened in children of mothers with PCOS who were also obese. Researchers did not find any gender differences regarding PCOS and ASD.

"We found that a maternal diagnosis of PCOS increased the risk of autism spectrum disorder in the offspring by 59 percent," lead researcher Kyriaki Kosidou, of the department of public health sciences at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, said in a news release.

The findings touch on previous theories, which suggest that exposure to sex hormones early in life may play an important role in a child's ASD risk. The hormonal imbalance caused from PCOS can result in irregular changes in menstrual cycle, ovarian cysts and other health problems that may contribute to the developmental health problem, researchers say. 

"It is too early to make specific recommendations to clinicians in terms of care for pregnant women with PCOS, though increased awareness of this relationship might facilitate earlier detection of ASD in children whose mothers have been diagnosed with PCOS," study author Renee Gardner, PhD, of the department of public health sciences at the Karolinska Institute, concluded. 

The study is published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

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