Women with PCOS are 35% more likely to have a child with autism

Women with PCOS are 35% more likely to have a child with autism because their elevated levels of testosterone are passed on in the womb, finds Cambridge University study

• Experts today described the new study as an ‘important piece of new evidence’ 
• The medical community remains flummoxed by the root cause of autism (ASD) 
• An array of evidence has pointed the blame at elevated levels of testosterone 
• PCOS strikes one in ten women and is caused by high levels of the hormone 

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Women with polycystic ovary syndrome are more likely to have a child with autism, research suggests.

Scientists have discovered women with the common condition face a 35 per cent higher chance of their youngster being on the spectrum.

Experts today described the new study as an ‘important piece of new evidence’ as the medical community remains flummoxed by the cause of ASD.

An array of evidence has pointed the blame at elevated levels of testosterone – and the new Cambridge University research adds to the link.

PCOS strikes one in ten women and is caused by high levels of the hormone, which is passed onto youngsters in the womb, researchers believe.

Scientists have discovered women with the common condition face a 35 per cent higher chance of their youngster being on the spectrum

Charities estimate there is around 700,000 people who are on the autism spectrum in the UK. In the US, it is as high as 3.5 million. 

Data from 8,500 women with PCOS and their first-born children were taken from a large NHS database of GP records for the study. 

Cambridge University scientists then compared them to a group of 41,000 women without the common condition and their kids.

Women with PCOS had a 2.3 per cent chance of having an autistic child, compared to the 1.7 per cent chance for those without PCOS.

Led by Master’s student Adriana Cherskov, experts stressed the likelihood of having an autistic child is still very low, even among women with PCOS.

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Ms Cherskov said: ‘This is an important piece of new evidence for the theory that autism is not only caused by genes but also by prenatal sex steroid hormones such as testosterone.’

The study, published in Translational Psychiatry, builds on work in 2015 which found autistic children have higher levels of testosterone.

Experts believe this may explain why boys are estimated to be four times more likely to be on the spectrum than girls. 

THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF AUTISM

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with autism have trouble with social, emotional and communication skills that usually develop before the age of three and last throughout a person’s life. 

Specific signs of autism include: 

• Reactions to smell, taste, look, feel or sound are unusual
• Difficulty adapting to changes in routine
• Unable to repeat or echo what is said to them
• Difficulty expressing desires using words or motions
• Unable to discuss their own feelings or other people’s
• Difficulty with acts of affection like hugging
• Prefer to be alone and avoid eye contact
• Difficulty relating to other people
• Unable to point at objects or look at objects when others point to them

However, the medical community have since wondered where the elevated levels of sex steroid hormones were coming from in autistic youngsters.

Suggestions were pointed towards the mother, as some of the hormone may cross the placenta during pregnancy.

This would expose her unborn baby to more of the hormone, changing their brain development and leaving them prone to autism.    

The study was presented at the 2016 International Meeting for Autism Research in Baltimore, before being published in a journal.

The same team also conducted two other studies using the same data and found autistic women were more likely to have PCOS, and the other way around. 

This strongly suggests the two conditions are linked, probably because they both share elevated sex steroid hormone levels.  

Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, director of Cambridge’s Autism Research Centre, said: ‘This new research is helping us understand the effects of testosterone on the developing fetal brain, and on the child’s later behaviour and mind. 

‘These hormonal effects are not necessarily independent of genetic factors, as a mother or her baby may have higher levels of the hormone for genetic reasons, and testosterone can affect how genes function.’

Dr Carrie Allison, who co-supervised the research, said: ‘We need to think about the practical steps we can put in place to support women with PCOS as they go through their pregnancies. 

‘The likelihood is statistically significant but nevertheless still small, in that most women with PCOS won’t have a child with autism, but we want to be transparent with this new information.’

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