By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on March 23, 2015 ~ 1 min read
A new paper reports the incidence of diagnosed autism was twice as high for assisted reproductive technology (ART) as non-ART births in a California study.
ART includes a group of complex procedures that are often utilized if a woman does not become pregnant after treatment with medical and surgical techniques. Techniques include intrauterine insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilization and third party assisted ART.
The new study reviewed nearly six million children born in California from 1997 through 2007.
Researchers report, however, that much of the association between ART and autism can be explained by age and education of the mother as well as adverse perinatal outcomes, especially multiple births. After accounting for these factors, the study showed an elevated risk only for mothers ages 20-34.
Notably, the study reported no significant increased risk of autism for women who gave birth to singleton children.
These results indicate that the higher autism risk may be due mainly to the large numbers of multiple births and complications of pregnancy and delivery among children conceived with ART, said Dr. Christine Fountain, assistant professor of sociology at Fordham University and affiliated researcher at Columbia University.
Autism impairs social interaction and predisposes children to restrictive and repetitive behaviors. Over the past three decades, California has witnessed a very large spike in autism cases, as have many other areas of the United States.
The study, a large collaboration between researchers at Columbia University, Fordham University, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was published by the American Journal of Public Health.
The study was based on a massive linkage of different kinds of records from the California Birth Master Files for 1997 through 2007, the California Department of Developmental Services autism caseload for 1997 through 2011, and the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions National ART Surveillance System for live births in 1997 through 2007.
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Autism Tied to Multiple Births After Fertility Treatments