Maternal polycystic ovary syndrome and the potential risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder in the offspring: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are two increasing important problems among children. This study aims to explore the link between maternal polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and the risk of ASD and ADHD in the offspring.

Method: The MOOSE guidelines were followed in the conduct of this meta-analysis. A literature search was done in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science from inception until January 2021. The DerSimonian and Laird random-effects model was used to estimate the combined risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Sensitivity analysis was also used to investigate the effect of each study on the combined results.

Results: Seven studies, with 1,358,696 participants, comprising 7,334 ADHD cases and 3,920 ASD cases, were included in this study. Children born to mothers with maternal PCOS had higher risks of developing ASD (RR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.26-1.69, I² = 64%) and ADHD (RR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.35-1.41, I² = 0%) when compared with children born to mothers without maternal PCOS.

Conclusion: This study showed that there might be a link between maternal PCOS and the risk of developing ASD and ADHD in the offspring. This important issue must be considered in PCOS women during and after pregnancy.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; maternal; offspring; polycystic ovary syndrome.