Maternal And Neonatal Risk Factors Associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder for Children in Kirkuk City

Abstract

Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurological illness that impacts a child's cognitive abilities, social interactions, and communication skills. The aim was to determine the association between maternal and neonatal risk factors associated with ASD for children in Kirkuk City. Methods: A case-control study was conducted on 180 mothers as a non-probability/convenience sample involving 90 mothers of children who were diagnosed with ASD according to the criteria (DSM-5) as a case group and were compared with 90 mothers of healthy children as a control group in Kirkuk city, through the period from November 2023 to December 2024. The collected data was analysed using SPSS version 22.0. Both descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used. The significance level for statistical analysis was set at P<0.05. Results: The study found that among 90 autistic children, 80% (72) were male, with a significance level of P=0.002. Prenatal and natal factors revealed that 78.9% of mothers experienced an unhappy emotional state, significant at P=0.000. Additionally, threatened abortions and anaemia were statistically significant at P=0.000. Also, 58.9% of the children were born via caesarean section, with 42.2% being elective c/s. 56.7% of children with autism were also bottle-fed. The majority of neonates (61.1%) were affected by jaundice, and 32.2% required phototherapy, significant at P<0.01. Conclusion: The findings detected several risk factors associated with ASD in children in a case-control study from Iraq. The most important of which were the age of the child and gender, anaemia, threatened abortions and caesarean section (elective c/s), in addition to high bilirubin levels (jaundice) of the neonate and admission to the incubator.