Persistent hormone disruption during pregnancy trimesters appears to increase the likelihood of autism in children, shows a new large cohort study.

Women who experience continuing thyroid hormone irregularities throughout pregnancy may face a higher chance of having a child diagnosed with autism, according to a study released in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Thyroid hormones supplied by the mother play an important role in fetal neurodevelopment. When these hormones become disrupted during pregnancy, previous work has linked the imbalance to atypical brain development and a higher likelihood of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Autism is a multifaceted condition that shapes how an individual communicates, interacts socially, and interprets the world.

Untreated Multi-Trimester Imbalance Carries Higher Risk

“We found that while adequately treated chronic thyroid dysfunction was not associated with increased autism risk in offspring, ongoing imbalance across multiple trimesters was,” said Idan Menashe, Ph.D., of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel.

“These findings underscore the need for routine monitoring and timely adjustment of therapy to maintain normal thyroid hormone levels throughout pregnancy.”

A Clear Pattern

The research tracked more than 51,000 births between January 2011 and December 2017
and reported that mothers with persistent thyroid hormone imbalance across their pregnancy had an increased likelihood of having children with autism.

A total of 4409 (8.6%) of the mothers showed abnormal thyroid function.

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The authors also documented a dose-response pattern, meaning the risk rose as the number of affected trimesters increased.

No funding was received for this study.

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