A Meta-Analysis of Maternal Smoking during Pregnancy and Autism Spectrum Disorder Risk in Offspring

Shiming Tang, Ying Wang, Xuan Gong and Gaohua Wang
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Shiming Tang: Mental Health Center, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Jiefang Road 238#, Wuhan 430060, China
Ying Wang: Mental Health Center, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Jiefang Road 238#, Wuhan 430060, China
Xuan Gong: Mental Health Center, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Jiefang Road 238#, Wuhan 430060, China
Gaohua Wang: Mental Health Center, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Jiefang Road 238#, Wuhan 430060, China

IJERPH, 2015, vol. 12, issue 9, 1-14

Abstract: The association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) risk in offspring has been investigated in several studies, but the evidence is not conclusive. We, therefore, conducted this meta-analysis to explore whether an association exists between maternal smoking during pregnancy and ASD risk in offspring. We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library for studies of maternal smoking during pregnancy and ASD risk in offspring up to 10 June 2015. The random-effects model was used to combine results from individual studies. 15 observational studies (6 cohort studies and 9 case-control studies), with 17,890 ASD cases and 1,810,258 participants were included for analysis. The pooled odds ratio (OR) was 1.02 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.93–1.13) comparing mothers who smoked during pregnancy with those who did not. Subgroup and sensitivity analysis suggested the overall result of this analysis was robust. Results from this meta-analysis indicate that maternal smoking during pregnancy is not associated with ASD risk in offspring. Further well-designed cohort studies are needed to confirm the present findings.

Keywords: maternal smoking; risk factor; autism spectrum disorder; meta-analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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