Primal Health Databank: Study

Entry No:0781
Title:Neonatal jaundice, autism, and other disorders of psychological development
Author(s):Maimburg RD, et al., Achenbach T, et al.
Reference:Pediatrics. 2010 Nov;126(5):872-8. Epub 2010 Oct 11
Place of Study:Denmark
Abstract:A population-based, follow-up study of all children born alive in Denmark between 1994 and 2004 (N = 733 826) was performed, with data collected from 4 national registers. Survival analysis was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs). Exposure to jaundice in neonates was associated with increased risk of disorders of psychological development for children born at term. The excess risk of developing a disorder in the spectrum of psychological development disorders after exposure to jaundice as a neonate was between 56% (HR: 1.56 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05-2.30]) and 88% (HR: 1.88 [95% CI: 1.17-3.02]). The excess risk of infantile autism was 67% (HR: 1.67 [95% CI: 1.03-2.71]). This risk for infantile autism was higher if the child was conceived by a parous woman (HR: 2.71 [95% CI: 1.57-4.66]) or was born between October and March (HR: 2.21 [95% CI: 1.24-3.94]). The risk for infantile autism disappeared if the child was conceived by a primiparous woman (HR: 0.58 [95% CI: 0.18-1.83]) or was born between April and September (HR: 1.02 [95% CI: 0.41-2.50]). Similar risk patterns were found for the whole spectrum of autistic disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Neonatal jaundice in children born at term is associated with disorders of psychological development. Parity and season of birth seem to play important roles.
Keyword(s):autism, autistic spectrum disorder, forceps delivery, hyperbilirubinemia, jaundice, psychopathologic problem
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