High levels of oestrogen in the womb may make autism a prenatal disorder, according to a new study. Oestrogen could affect brain development in foetuses. However, researchers have yet to determine whether the mother, baby or placenta is the cause for these high hormone levels.
Autism refers to the developmental disability that has an impact on how a person can communicate, as well as experiences the world, according to the National Autistic Society. The condition is recognised as a spectrum disorder. That is why people with autism have a range of different experiences.
To investigate the relationship between autism and high levels of oestrogen, researchers collected data on more than 100,000 pregnancies from theDanish Biobank to test amniotic fluid. The team found oestrogens levels were higher in foetuses who developed autism later, compared to those foetuses who did not develop the condition.
Previous research suggested testosterone may be the link to autism. However, researchers have now discovered oestrogen has a stronger link."This new finding supports the idea that increased prenatal sex steroid hormones are one of the potential causes for the condition,” study author Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge, told a news portal. Adding, "Genetics is well established as another, and these hormones likely interact with genetic factors to affect the developing foetal brain."
The team now wants to conduct further experiments to better understand foetal brain development. "We hope that we can learn more about how they contribute to foetal brain development in further experiments. We still need to see whether the same result holds true in autistic females," Dr Alexa Pohl, who was part of the research team, told a news portal.
Dr James Findon from King’s College London, who was not part of the investigation, warns that more tests need to be conducted to better understand these results. "There is hardly any work on prenatal oestrogen in autism, so while this is a good first step, we have to be cautious and not get carried away," Dr Findon told a news portal. Adding, "It is unknown exactly how prenatal sex steroid hormones may impact neurodevelopment. But this study lays the groundwork for future studies to investigate this relationship further."
The study's finding was originally published in Molecular Psychiatry.
