Select Region
Follow us!
  • THINGS TO DO
    • Calendar Weekend Events in Manhattan Weekend Events in Brooklyn Weekend Events in Queens Weekend Events in Long Island Weekend Events in Westchester Weekend Events in Rockland/Bergen
  • After-School
    • Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Long Island Rockland Westchester
  • Education
    • Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Long Island Rockland Westchester
  • Camp
    • Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Long Island Rockland Westchester
  • Special Needs
    • Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Long Island Rockland Westchester
  • Advertise


    • Home Special Needs Articles
    Mothers with This Ovarian Condition May Be More Likely to Have a Child with Autism

    Mothers with This Ovarian Condition May Be More Likely to Have a Child with Autism

    By Samantha Neudorf

    A new study has found that mothers with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) may be more likely to have a child with autism.

    PCOS is a disorder in which a hormonal imbalance can cause changes in a woman’s menstrual cycle, ovarian cysts, difficulty in pregnancy, and other health problems, according to HealthDay News.

    The study was published by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden on December 8. Researchers noted that mothers with PCOS and children with autism were correlated—it is not a cause-and-effect relationship. 

    "We found that a maternal diagnosis of PCOS increased the risk of autism spectrum disorder in the offspring by 59 percent," Kyriaki Kosidou, lead researcher from the department of public health sciences at the Karolinska Institute, said in an institute news release.



    To draw their conclusions, researchers studied 24,000 children in Sweden with autism born between 1984 and 2007, then compared them to 200,000 other children that are not on the spectrum.

    “The risk [of autism] was further increased among mother with both PCOS and obesity, a condition common to PCOS that is related to more severely increased androgens,” Kosidou said in the news release.

    Women with higher levels of androgens—sex hormones that develop male characteristics—were more likely to have PCOS, even if they were pregnant.

    Researchers also found that exposure to sex hormones early in life may affect a child’s risk to autism. Between 5 and 15 percent of women around a “childbearing age” have PCOS.

    RELATED: To have more stories like this sent to your inbox, subscribe to our newsleter.

     

    More Special Needs Articles:

    Healthy Brain Network Offering Free Learning and Mental Health Evaluations for Kids

    The Healthy Brain Network is offering free study-related, diagnostic language, learning and mental health evaluations to 10,000 children ages 5-21.


    Latest News:

    7 Things to Do After Your Child's Special Needs Diagnosis

    Receiving a special needs diagnosis for your child can be overwhelming. Here are seven steps to follow that will put you on the right path from the be...


    Family Activities:



    Have a Laugh:

    Best Memes of the Week for Parents

    Here are the funniest parenting memes from Instagram, Facebook, and Reddit this week.
    Samantha Neudorf

    Author: Samantha Neudorf is a former editor at NYMetroParents. See More

    Featured Listings:

    Palisades Climb Adventure

    Palisades Climb Adventure

    West Nyack, NY Get ready to experience the World’s tallest indoor ropes course standing 85 feet tall. Palisades Climb Adventure combines the thrill of challenge with...

    Kon Gen International Preschool

    Kon Gen International Preschool

    Bayside, NY Kon Gen International Preschool is a child-focused and family friendly pre-school located on the border of Flushing and Bayside serving children 2 to ...

    Ohman School of Ballet

    Ohman School of Ballet

    Commack, NY Now in its 34th year, the Ohman School of Ballet was founded by Frank Ohman, former soloist of New York City Ballet and is one of the few remaining di...

    About Us

    NYMetroParents, the parenting division of Schneps Media, publishes eight regional print magazines around the greater New York City metro region, as well as the website nymetroparents.com.

    Read more...

    Join Us

    This Month's Issue

    NYMP Cover
    Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved Privacy Policy SE Link