Autoimmune Disorders in Mothers: More to worry about?

There's been quite a bit of speculation about whether autistic children might have abnormally functioning immune systems; some alternative biomedical treatments (such as anti-fungal treatment) are based on these theories. It's also been suggested that autoimmune diseases in expectant mothers might be linked to autism in a child. A new study published in the July 6th online edition of Pediatrics has found that children whose mothers have type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and celiac disease---all autoimmune diseases---could be at up to three times a greater risk for autism.

The study was conducted by researchers at the Department of Mental Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. Medline Plus summarizes the results of the study:

[William W.] Eaton's team collected data on 3,325 Danish children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, including 1,089 diagnosed with infantile autism. The children were born between 1993 and 2004, and their data was part of the Danish National Psychiatric Registry. Data on family members with autoimmune diseases came from the Danish National Hospital Register.

The researchers found that children whose mothers had autoimmune disease were at a higher risk of developing autism spectrum disorder than children of mothers who did not have these conditions. In addition, the risk of infantile autism was increased in children with a family history of type 1 diabetes.

The increased risk that autoimmune diseases contribute to autism is not huge, Eaton said.

"The increased risk for type 1 diabetes is a little less than two times, for rheumatoid arthritis it's about 1.5 times and for celiac disease it's more than three times," Eaton said. "That's enough to impress an epidemiologist, but not enough to make anybody in the general population start changing their behavior."

The distinction between the study's findings about autoimmunity and the (not yet possible) application of these findings to actual treatment is notable. Very often advocates will call for studies and research to figure or find out some issue, but the gap between these studies and actual, practical applications remains and parents are not always aware of this.

The scientists are, I think, prudent to point this out. It seems that it is becoming possible to know about a child being autistic earlier and earlier. There've been plenty of reports in the media about parents choosing not to vaccinate a child for fear of the child "getting" autism. Could studies like this new one in Pediatrics lead to parents with diabetes, celiac disease, or rheumatoid arthritis being unduly anxious about the "risks" their children might face? It's essential to distinguish between the long-term and "bigger picture" aspects of this and other study's findings, even as it's important to be able to plan ahead.

Eaton also notes that "children who are born underweight or premature are at higher risk for autism, and both of these obstetric problems are associated with celiac disease"----Charlie was full-term and 8 pounds, 3 ounces. You just never know.

Silhouette of expectant mother from Nantucket Country Antiques.