Neonatal factors among subjects diagnosed with a pervasive developmental disorder in the US

Abstract

Purpose: Contradictory studies suggest that some neonatal factors may be associated with a pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) diagnosis, but limited data is available from longitudinal, prospective medical record assessments.

Materials and methods: The present hypothesis-testing longitudinal, case-control study evaluated birth characteristics among cases diagnosed with a PDD in comparison to controls by examining prospectively collected automated medical records within the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) database.

Results: Cases were Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)-enrolled from birth until diagnosed with International Classification of Disease, 9th revision (ICD-9) PDD (299.xx) and controls were HMO-enrolled from birth for at least 4.75 years without a PDD diagnosis. The birth characteristics examined included: gender, gestational age in weeks at birth, mean birth weight in grams, Appearance-Pulse-Grimace-Activity-Respiration (APGAR) scores at 1 minute and 5 minutes, and maternal age in years at birth. Cases had a significantly increased male/female ratio relative to controls. By contrast, mean gestational age at birth, mean birth weight, mean maternal age at birth, and mean APGAR scores at 1 minute and 5 minutes were not statistically different among cases compared to controls.

Conclusions: This study indicates that cases diagnosed with a PDD as compared to controls do not have significant differences in neonatal factors.

Keywords:

• Asperger
• autism
• neonatal
• PDD-NOS
• gestational age

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge Dr Brian S. Hooker’s help in designing the computer programs utilized to examine the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) in the present study.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to this article to disclose.

The authors have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the nonprofit CoMeD, Inc and by the nonprofit Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc.