Novika Purnama Sari1,2,3, Pauline W Jansen4,5, Laura M E Blanken5,6,7, Amber N V Ruigrok8, Peter Prinzie4, Henning Tiemeier5,9, Simon Baron-Cohen8, Marinus H van IJzendoorn4,10, Tonya White5,11. 1. Department Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. purnamasari@essb.eur.nl. 2. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. purnamasari@essb.eur.nl. 3. Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. purnamasari@essb.eur.nl. 4. Department Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 5. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 6. Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 7. Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 8. Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. 9. Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. 10. Research Department of Clinical Educational and Health Psychology, UCL, University of London, London, UK. 11. Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Many empirical studies suggest that higher maternal age increases the likelihood of having an autistic child. However, little is known about factors that may explain this relationship or if higher maternal age is related to the number of autistic-like traits in offspring. One possibility is that mothers who have a higher number of autistic-like traits, including greater challenges performing mentalizing skills, are delayed in finding a partner. The goal of our study is to assess the relationship between maternal age, mentalizing skills and autistic-like traits as independent predictors of the number of autistic-like traits in offspring. METHODS: In a population-based study in the Netherlands, information on maternal age was collected during pre- and perinatal enrolment. Maternal mentalizing skills and autistic-like traits were assessed using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test and the Autism Spectrum Quotient, respectively. Autistic-like traits in children were assessed with the Social Responsiveness Scale. A total of 5718 mother/child dyads had complete data (Magechild = 13.5 years; 50.2% girls). RESULTS: The relationship between maternal age and autistic-like traits in offspring best fits a U-shaped curve. Furthermore, higher levels of autistic features in mothers are linked to higher levels of autistic-like traits in their children. Lower mentalizing performance in mothers is linked to higher levels of autistic-like traits in their children. LIMITATIONS: We were able to collect data on both autistic-like traits and the mentalizing skills test in a large population of mothers, but we did not collect these data in a large number of the fathers. CONCLUSIONS: The relationships between older and younger mothers may have comparable underlying mechanisms, but it is also possible that the tails of the U-shaped curve are influenced by disparate mechanisms.
BACKGROUND: Many empirical studies suggest that higher maternal age increases the likelihood of having an autistic child. However, little is known about factors that may explain this relationship or if higher maternal age is related to the number of autistic-like traits in offspring. One possibility is that mothers who have a higher number of autistic-like traits, including greater challenges performing mentalizing skills, are delayed in finding a partner. The goal of our study is to assess the relationship between maternal age, mentalizing skills and autistic-like traits as independent predictors of the number of autistic-like traits in offspring. METHODS: In a population-based study in the Netherlands, information on maternal age was collected during pre- and perinatal enrolment. Maternal mentalizing skills and autistic-like traits were assessed using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test and the Autism Spectrum Quotient, respectively. Autistic-like traits in children were assessed with the Social Responsiveness Scale. A total of 5718 mother/child dyads had complete data (Magechild = 13.5 years; 50.2% girls). RESULTS: The relationship between maternal age and autistic-like traits in offspring best fits a U-shaped curve. Furthermore, higher levels of autistic features in mothers are linked to higher levels of autistic-like traits in their children. Lower mentalizing performance in mothers is linked to higher levels of autistic-like traits in their children. LIMITATIONS: We were able to collect data on both autistic-like traits and the mentalizing skills test in a large population of mothers, but we did not collect these data in a large number of the fathers. CONCLUSIONS: The relationships between older and younger mothers may have comparable underlying mechanisms, but it is also possible that the tails of the U-shaped curve are influenced by disparate mechanisms.
Authors: Fadila Serdarevic; Akhgar Ghassabian; Tamara van Batenburg-Eddes; Tonya White; Laura M E Blanken; Vincent W V Jaddoe; Frank C Verhulst; Henning Tiemeier Journal: Autism Res Date: 2017-02-09 Impact factor: 5.216
Authors: Marjolein N Kooijman; Claudia J Kruithof; Cornelia M van Duijn; Liesbeth Duijts; Oscar H Franco; Marinus H van IJzendoorn; Johan C de Jongste; Caroline C W Klaver; Aad van der Lugt; Johan P Mackenbach; Henriëtte A Moll; Robin P Peeters; Hein Raat; Edmond H H M Rings; Fernando Rivadeneira; Marc P van der Schroeff; Eric A P Steegers; Henning Tiemeier; André G Uitterlinden; Frank C Verhulst; Eppo Wolvius; Janine F Felix; Vincent W V Jaddoe Journal: Eur J Epidemiol Date: 2017-01-09 Impact factor: 8.082
Authors: Martin W Breuss; Danny Antaki; Renee D George; Morgan Kleiber; Kiely N James; Laurel L Ball; Oanh Hong; Ileena Mitra; Xiaoxu Yang; Sara A Wirth; Jing Gu; Camila A B Garcia; Madhusudan Gujral; William M Brandler; Damir Musaev; An Nguyen; Jennifer McEvoy-Venneri; Renatta Knox; Evan Sticca; Martha Cristina Cancino Botello; Javiera Uribe Fenner; Maria Cárcel Pérez; Maria Arranz; Andrea B Moffitt; Zihua Wang; Amaia Hervás; Orrin Devinsky; Melissa Gymrek; Jonathan Sebat; Joseph G Gleeson Journal: Nat Med Date: 2019-12-23 Impact factor: 87.241