Maternal Pre-pregnancy Body Mass Index and Gestational Weight Gain in Relation to Autism Spectrum Disorder and other Developmental Disorders in Offspring.

Weight and height were reported by mothers 3 to 5 years after birth, and medical records were missing for nearly 40% of women, so exposure measurement may be inaccurate. Some targeted families could not be located or contacted, and nonresponse was associated with younger maternal age, lower maternal education and non-white race. The study is observational, so it cannot show that maternal weight or weight gain caused ASD or developmental delay; unknown factors such as diet, inflammation or genetics may explain part of the associations. High-functioning children with ASD may be under-represented because of the age at which children were ascertained. The developmental delay group was broad, with diagnoses not confirmed by study staff, and the sample was too small to draw firm conclusions about severe obesity subclasses. Subgroup findings by child sex and pre-pregnancy BMI were suggestive but not definitive.

The supplied text does not include a conflicts of interest or funding declaration. The article is tagged as supported by U.S. government Public Health Service research.

Do not conclude that maternal weight gain causes ASD or developmental delay, or that clinicians should use maternal weight to screen a child. This is an observational case-control study with self-reported weight years later and possible residual confounding, so it shows association only.