Maternal contraception use may increase odds of ASD

The use of some forms of maternal birth control may slightly increase the odds of a child having an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to research from Denmark.

Marie Hargreave and colleagues analyzed data on more than one million Danish children born from 1998 through 2014. The researchers divided maternal birth control use into three categories: recent use (ending three months or less before pregnancy, or extending into pregnancy); previous use (ending more than three months before pregnancy); and no use.

Hargreave and her team calculated the association between maternal birth control use and ASD using incidence rate ratios (IRRs). IRRs are calculated by dividing the number of new cases in a time period by the number of individuals in the total group being studied.

The researchers report, “A slightly higher IRR was observed for maternal recent use of any hormonal contraception, compared to previous use.” This association, they say, was largely driven by non-oral progestin-only products. They add, “An increased IRR of infantile autism was also observed for recent use of the oral progestin-only products, compared to previous use.”

They conclude, “Our results suggest that maternal use of hormonal contraception may be associated with ASD risk in children, especially for the progestin-only products.”

Citations

“Maternal use of hormonal contraception and risk of childhood autism spectrum disorders: A Parental Exposures and Child Health (PECH) cohort study,” Marie Hargreave, Andrea H. Jezek, Caroline H. Hemmingsen, Elisabeth A.W. Andersen, Anne K. Pagsberg, Teresa Holmberg, Lina S. Mørch, and Susanne K. Kjaer, Psychiatry Research, Vol. 332, February 2024 (online). Address: Marie Hargreave, Virus, Lifestyle and Genes, Danish Cancer Institute, Copenhagen DK-2100, Denmark, [email protected].