Maternal Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Association with Child Autism Spectrum Disorder

• Main Author: Huang, Yunru
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2017
• Subjects: Epidemiology; Individual & family studies
• ISBN: 9780355149692; 0355149699

Background: Over the past twenty years, the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has alarmingly increased in the United States. Even though non-genetic causes of ASD are largely unknown, environmental factors, such as maternal nutrition, are suspected to play a substantial role in ASD etiology. Objective: This dissertation investigated maternal polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) during gestation, including omega3, omega6, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), linoleic acid (LA) and arachidonic acid (AA), as risk factors for ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders in the offspring using both a large case-control study, Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and Environment (CHARGE), and a high-risk prospective cohort study, Markers of Autism Risk in Babies-Learning Early Signs (MARBLES). Methods: Chapter 1 used data from the CHARGE study, which included retrospective reported maternal fish and PUFA intake. Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 used data from the MARBLES study, which included prospective reported maternal PUFA supplemental and dietary intake and plasma concentrations. In both study, mothers were interviewed by telephone using questionnaires to obtain fish consumption and omega3 supplementation information. Dietary PUFA intake was collected via food frequency questionnaire. Gas Chromatography (OmegaQuant) was also used to measure maternal plasma PUFA concentrations in the MARBLES study. Results: In MARBLES, we found that every 1 gm increase in log maternal omega3 intake during the 2nd half of pregnancy was associated with an 82% reduction (relative risk (RR) =0.18, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.05, 0.65) in estimated risk of ASD in the children. No other associations were detected between other types of maternal PUFAs and risk of ASD in offspring collected from either questionnaires or plasma in all chapters. Potential reasons for discrepancies in our findings across studies and measures were discussed. Conclusion: Consistent with previous studies, our studies suggest prenatalomega3 intake could have protective relationships with offspring’s risk of ASD as well as other neurodevelopmental disorders, but the evidence is not consistent.