Perinatal testosterone exposure and autistic-like traits in the general population: a longitudinal pregnancy-cohort study

Whitehouse, Mattes Eugen, Maybery, Dissanayake Cheryl, Sawyer Michael, Jones, Pennell, Keelan, Hickey, Hickey Martha

Description

Increased prenatal testosterone exposure has been hypothesized as a mechanism underlying autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, no studies have prospectively measured prenatal testosterone exposure and ASD. The current study sought to determine whether testosterone concentrations in umbilical cord blood are associated with a clinical diagnosis of ASD in a small number of children and with autistic-like traits in the general population. Methods Umbilical cord blood was collected from 707 children. Samples were analyzed for total (TT) and bioavailable (BioT) testosterone concentrations. Parent report indicated that five individuals had a clinical diagnosis of ASD. Those participants without a diagnosis were approached in early adulthood to complete the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), a self-report measure of autistic-like traits, with 184 males (M = 20.10 years; SD= 0.65 years) and 190 females (M = 19.92 years; SD=0.68 years) providing data. Results The BioT and TT concentrations of the five children diagnosed with ASD were within one standard-deviation of the sex-specific means. Spearman’s rank-order coefficients revealed no significant correlations between TT levels and scores on any AQ scale among males (rho range: -.01 to .06) or females (rho value range: -.07 to .01). There was also no significant association between BioT or TT concentrations and AQ scores among males (rho value range: -.07 to .08) or females (rho value range: -.06 to .12). Males were more likely than females to have ‘high’ scores (upper decile) on the AQ scale relating pattern and detail processing. However, the likelihood of a high score on this scale was unrelated to BioT and TT concentrations in both males and females. Conclusions These findings indicate that testosterone concentrations from umbilical cord blood are unrelated to autistic-like traits in the general population. However, the findings do not exclude an association between testosterone exposure in early intrauterine life and ASD.

Sujets

• Autism
• Testostérone
• Pregnancy

Informations

• Publié par: biomed
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 9
• Langue: English

Extrait

Whitehouseet al. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders2012,4:25 http://www.jneurodevdisorders.com/content/4/1/25

R E S E A R C HOpen Access Perinatal testosterone exposure and autisticlike traits in the general population: a longitudinal pregnancycohort study 1* 12 34 Andrew JO Whitehouse, Eugen Mattes , Murray T Maybery , Cheryl Dissanayake , Michael Sawyer , 1 55 6 Rachel M Jones , Craig E Pennell , Jeffrey A Keelanand Martha Hickey

Abstract Background:Increased prenatal testosterone exposure has been hypothesized as a mechanism underlying autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, no studies have prospectively measured prenatal testosterone exposure and ASD. The current study sought to determine whether testosterone concentrations in umbilical cord blood are associated with a clinical diagnosis of ASD in a small number of children and with autisticlike traits in the general population. Methods:Umbilical cord blood was collected from 707 children. Samples were analyzed for total (TT) and bioavailable (BioT) testosterone concentrations. Parent report indicated that five individuals had a clinical diagnosis of ASD. Those participants without a diagnosis were approached in early adulthood to complete the AutismSpectrum Quotient (AQ), a selfreport measure of autisticlike traits, with 184 males (M = 20.10 years; SD= 0.65 years) and 190 females (M = 19.92 years; SD=0.68 years) providing data. Results:The BioT and TT concentrations of the five children diagnosed with ASD were within one standarddeviation of the sexspecific means. Spearman’s rankorder coefficients revealed no significant correlations between TT levels and scores on any AQ scale among males (rho range: .01 to .06) or females (rho value range: .07 to .01). There was also no significant association between BioT or TT concentrations and AQ scores among males (rho value range: .07 to .08) or females (rho value range: .06 to .12). Males were more likely than females to have‘high’ scores (upper decile) on the AQ scale relating pattern and detail processing. However, the likelihood of a high score on this scale was unrelated to BioT and TT concentrations in both males and females. Conclusions:These findings indicate that testosterone concentrations from umbilical cord blood are unrelated to autisticlike traits in the general population. However, the findings do not exclude an association between testosterone exposure in early intrauterine life and ASD. Keywords:Autism, Testosterone, Prenatal, Perinatal, Autisticlike traits

Background Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the collective term for neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication, and a restricted range of activities and interests [1]. While the biological pathways contributing to ASD

* Correspondence: [e-mail] 1 Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Centre for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, 100 Roberts Road, Subiaco, Western Australia 6008, Australia Full list of author information is available at the end of the article

remain unclear, current consensus is for a multifactorial etiology, incorporating a constellation of genetic risk variants, perhaps interacting with environmental factors [2]. Males are between two and four times more likely to receive a diagnosis of ASD than females [35], and it has been suggested that this sex bias may provide clues as to the biological mechanisms subserving the condition [6,7]. Testosterone, the most biologically significant an drogen, is a small lipophilic molecule that is able to pass the blood–brain barrier and cell membranes, and bind with androgen receptors found in the cytoplasm of cells.

© 2012 Whitehouse et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.