NIH PROGRAM STUDY LINKS SMOKING IN PREGNANT MOMS TO AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER IN CHILDREN

DURHAM, N.C., Feb. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Smoking before or during pregnancy may be associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) traits, such as symptoms of social impairments, according to a new study of approximately 11,000 children funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The study also observed that full-term babies whose mothers smoked before and during pregnancy had a 44 percent increased risk of receiving an ASD diagnosis later in childhood. The research , titled "Maternal Tobacco Smoking and Offspring Autism Spectrum Disorder or Traits in ECHO Cohorts," is published in Autism Research

Rashelle J. Musci, Ph.D. of Johns Hopkins University and Irva Hertz-Picciotto, Ph.D. of the University of California, Davis, led this collaborative effort as investigators in the NIH-funded Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program.

The research team gathered information from children in 13 ECHO cohorts across the U.S. Each cohort either collected diagnoses for ASD, administered the Social Responsiveness Scale to determine social impairments in the children, or both. All cohorts also collected data on the mothers' prenatal smoking habits and potential confounding variables.

"Future studies can help determine the specific prenatal period at which infants are most susceptible to cigarette smoke exposure and other factors, such as lifestyle habits or paternal smoking, that may influence the child's development," Hertz-Picciotto said.

Hertz-Picciotto, I. et al. Maternal Tobacco Smoking and Offspring Autism Spectrum Disorder or Traits in ECHO Cohorts. Autism Research. DOI 10.1002/aur.2693 (2022)

About ECHO: ECHO is a nationwide research program supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Launched in 2016, ECHO aims to enhance the health of children for generations to come. ECHO investigators study the effects of a broad range of early environmental influences on child health and development. The program consists of two major components, including 69 existing and ongoing observational study cohorts and a pediatric clinical trials network. For more information, visit echochildren.org.

About the NIH: NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

SOURCE Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program