Analysis of neurodevelopmental delay in children exposed in utero to hyperemesis gravidarum reveals increased reporting of autism spectrum disorder

Marlena Fejzo; Alyssa Kam; Amanda Laguna; Kimber MacGibbon; Patrick Mullin

doi:10.1016/j.reprotox.2018.12.009

Analysis of neurodevelopmental delay in children exposed in utero to hyperemesis gravidarum reveals increased reporting of autism spectrum disorder

Reprod Toxicol. 2019 Mar:84:59-64. doi: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2018.12.009. Epub 2018 Dec 27.

Authors

Marlena Fejzo¹, Alyssa Kam², Amanda Laguna², Kimber MacGibbon³, Patrick Mullin⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Division of Hematology-Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Electronic address: mfejzo@mednet.ucla.edu.
² Division of Hematology-Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
³ Hyperemesis Education and Research Foundation, Damascus, OR, USA.
⁴ Department of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

PMID: 30594672
DOI: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2018.12.009

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to follow up on the reporting of neurodevelopmental disorders in children exposed in utero to Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG). This was an exploratory descriptive study whereby neurodevelopmental outcomes of 267 children delivered by 177 mothers with HG were compared to neurodevelopmental outcomes from 93 children delivered by 60 unaffected mothers. Similar to at age 8, the children (now 12) exposed in utero to HG had over 3-fold increase in odds of neurodevelopmental disorders including attention, anxiety, sensory, sleep difficulty, and social development delay/social anxiety. However, with the longer follow-up, there was also a significant increase in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), reported in 22/267 (8%) of children exposed to HG in utero and no unexposed children. As early intervention for ASD can be critical to prognosis, larger studies are urgently needed to determine whether ASD is associated with exposure to HG.

Keywords: Attention; Autism spectrum disorder; Hyperemesis gravidarum; Learning; Nausea; Neurodevelopmental delay; Outcome; Pregnancy; Sensory.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Autism Spectrum Disorder / epidemiology*
Child
Female
Humans
Hyperemesis Gravidarum / epidemiology*
Male
Neurodevelopmental Disorders / epidemiology*
Pregnancy