Prenatal depression and risk of child autism-related traits among participants in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes program.

This study looked at nearly 4,000 families to see if depression during pregnancy is linked to autism-like traits in children. Children whose mothers had depression while pregnant were more likely to show autism-related behaviours and social difficulties. This was true for both boys and girls. The research suggests that identifying and treating depression during pregnancy might help support better development in children.

This large-scale study examined the relationship between prenatal depression and autism-related traits in children using data from 33 cohorts in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes program. Among 3,994 parent-child pairs, children whose mothers experienced prenatal depression showed significantly higher autism-related traits on the Social Responsiveness Scale compared to children of mothers without prenatal depression. The association was consistent across both boys and girls. Children of mothers with prenatal depression had 64% increased odds of scoring in the moderate-to-severe range for autism-related traits, which represents the screening threshold for high autism spectrum disorder risk.

The findings suggest prenatal depression may be an important risk factor for autism-related developmental outcomes.

Findings support the importance of screening for and treating prenatal depression as a potential preventive intervention. Early identification of at-risk children through maternal mental health history could inform developmental monitoring and early intervention strategies to support optimal outcomes.

The study cannot determine whether the association reflects shared genetic risk factors between depression and autism, environmental mechanisms, or other causal pathways. The mechanism underlying this association remains unclear and requires further investigation.

This study evaluated the association between prenatal depression and offspring autism-related traits. The sample comprised 33 prenatal/pediatric cohorts participating in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes program who contributed information on prenatal depression and autism-related traits. Autism-related traits were assessed continuously and at the diagnostic cut-off using the Social Responsiveness Scale for children up to 12 years of age. Main analyses included 3994 parent-child pairs with prenatal depression diagnoses data; secondary analyses included 1730 parent-child pairs with depression severity data.

After confounder adjustment, we observed an increase in autism-related traits among children of individuals with prenatal depression compared to those without (adjusted β = 1.31 95% CI: 0.65, 1.98). Analyses stratified by child sex documented a similar significant association among boys (aβ = 1.34 95%CI: 0.36, 2.32) and girls (aβ = 1.26 95% CI: 0.37, 2.15). Prenatal depression was also associated with increased odds of moderate to severe autism-related traits (adjusted odds ratio: 1.64, 95%CI: 1.09, 2.46), the screening threshold considered high risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Findings highlight the importance of prenatal depression screening and preventive interventions for children of pregnant individuals with depression to support healthy development.

Future research is needed to clarify whether these findings reflect overlap in genetic risk for depression and ASD-related traits or another mechanism.