According to analysis of NHS data by a research team at Cambridge University’s Autism Research Centre, women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) are more likely to have a child with autism when compared to other women. This was first published in the journal, Translational Psychiatry.
PCOS affects about 1 in 10 women and is a result of high levels of testosterone. The condition is associated with symptoms of excess body hair, irregular menstrual cycles and delayed onset of puberty. PCOS has an important connection to fluid-filled follicles in the ovaries.
Autism effects approximately 1% of the population and signs typically show up early in life even if it is diagnosed later on as a young adult.
Autism is a condition that presents individuals with challenges in:
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social interaction
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communication
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narrow interests
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predictable behavioral habits
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difficulty with change
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adhering to strict routines
Scientists researching causes of autism were interested in where the elevated sex hormone was originating. They looked into women with PCOS as being a possible source. PCOS women have higher testosterone than usual. Some of the hormone could cross the placenta during pregnancy into a newborn and cause abnormal brain development in the baby.
This idea of elevated prenatal sex hormone (like testosterone) that over masculinizes a baby’s brain and body, could explain why autism is generally diagnosed higher in boys. The research team revealed this in a 2015 study, showing even before birth, elevated levels of sex hormones in autistic children.
Although the risk of having an autistic child is still relatively low, even in women with PCOS. It does remain an important link in the overall understanding of the multiple causal factors in the development of autism.
The research team took from a large database of health records, anonymous data that looked at 8,588 women with PCOS and their first-born children. They compared those with 41,127 women without PCOS. After factoring in all variables, like complication during pregnancy and maternal mental health problems. They found that those women with PCOS had a 2.3% chance of having an autistic child as compared to 1.7% of mothers without PCOS.
These findings were then replicated in a Swedish study done in the same year and then presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research in 2016.
It should be also noted in two other studies there were conclusive evidence, using the same data.
Autistic women were more likely to have PCOS and women with PCOS carried a higher chance of having autism themselves. This conclusion points to a strong suggestion that the two conditions are closely linked.
This new important evidence broadens the causes of autism from a primarily genetic based one, to include prenatal sex steroid hormone, like testosterone, as another factor.
The supervisor of the research team, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, Director of the Autism Research Centre stated: “This new research is helping us understand the effects of testosterone on the developing fetal brain, and on the child’s later behavior and mind. These hormonal effects are not necessarily independent of genetic factors, as a mother of her baby may have higher levels of the hormone for genetic reasons, and testosterone can affect how genes function.”
Dr. Carrie Allison, co-supervisor said, “We need to think about the practical steps we can put into place to support women with PCOS as they go through their pregnancies. The likelihood is statistically significant but nevertheless still small, in that most women with PCOS won’t have a child with autism, but we want to be transparent with this new information.”
Personally, I find this information of special interest having worked with many children with autism. Any and all new information medical research can uncover will ultimately do it’s part in leading critical discoveries into better more diverse treatments. We need to understand the origins and primary biological mechanisms effected in autism to be able to make significant gains in how we manage and maybe minimize it altogether in the future.
Dr. Rupert Payne from University of Bristol Centre for Academic Primary Care, and team expert, said: “Autism can have a significant impact on a person’s wellbeing, and on their parents, and many autistic people have significant health, social care and educational special needs. This is an important step in trying to understand what causes autism. It is also an excellent example of the value of using anonymous routine healthcare data to answer vital medical research questions.”
-A Balanced Brain is a Better Brain for a Happier Life-