Fetal and Infancy Growth Pattern, Cord and Early Childhood Plasma Leptin, and Development of Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Boston Birth Cohort

Ramkripa Raghavan, Barry Zuckerman, Xiumei Hong, Guoying Wang, Yuelong Ji, David Paige, Jessica DiBari, Cuilin Zhang, M. Daniele Fallin, Xiaobin Wang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Leptin is a proinflammatory cytokine that plays an important role in energy homeostasis. Emerging evidence suggests that leptin levels are altered in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, this has not been studied prospectively. Rapid growth during infancy and early childhood has been implicated in ASD, but the evidence is inconsistent. As leptin is involved in growth and is a potential risk factor for ASD, we explored the associations between (a) cord, early childhood leptin and ASD; and (b) birth weight for gestational age, early childhood weight gain, and ASD. We also assessed the mediating role of leptin in the relationship between weight gain during infancy and ASD. This study was conducted in a sample of 822 subjects from the Boston Birth Cohort. ASD was defined from diagnostic codes in electronic medical records. Extremely rapid weight gain during infancy was associated with a greater ASD risk and this persisted after adjusting for potential confounders (aOR: 3.11; 95% CI: 1.37, 7.07). Similarly, children that had higher plasma leptin levels, prior to ASD diagnosis, had an increased ASD risk in both unadjusted and adjusted models (aOR: 7.87; 95% CI: 2.06, 30.04). Further, early childhood leptin indirectly mediated the relationship between rapid weight gain and ASD. No associations were found between birth weight for gestational age, cord leptin and risk of ASD. Our findings provide a basis to further explore whether the combination of early life growth pattern and a biomarker such as leptin can predict ASD earlier. Autism Res 2018, 11: 1416–1431.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1416-1431
Number of pages16
JournalAutism Research
Volume11
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2018

Keywords

  • autism
  • birth weight for gestational age
  • leptin
  • rapid weight gain in infancy

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience
  • Clinical Neurology
  • Genetics(clinical)

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