Authors:
Fairthorne J, de Klerk NH, Leonard H.
Authors notes:
Journal of Autism. 2015;2(1):2.
Keywords:
Autism, intellectual disability, maternal, psychiatric, linked data, health
Abstract:
Objective: Our four previous research papers examined the relationship between maternal psychiatric disorders and having a child with autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disability (ASD or ID).
Here, we aimed to discuss and integrate these results.
Methods: We used regression analyses of rates based on data from state-based, linkable registries.
Results: Women with a psychiatric disorder were about twice as likely to have a child with ASD or ID.
Of mothers with no psychiatric history, those with a child with ASD or ID were about twice as likely to have a psychiatric disorder after the birth as mothers with no child with ASD or ID.
During the study period, mothers with both a psychiatric disorder and a child with ASD or ID were at the highest risk of death, followed in succession by mothers with only a psychiatric disorder, mothers with only a child with ASD or ID, and mothers with neither a psychiatric disorder nor a child with ASD or ID.
Conclusions: The increased odds of a child with ASD or ID in women with a psychiatric disorder could be due to genetics and/or a poorer antenatal environment.
The higher rate of new onset disorders in mothers with a child with ASD or ID could have been due to a higher burden of care.
Mothers with both a psychiatric disorder and a child with ASD or ID faced the greatest challenges.
Extra support is needed for mothers of children with ASD or ID (and particularly those with a psychiatric disorder) to enable them to maintain their mental health and to successfully meet the challenges of raising their child.