Mahoney Ashley Darcy, Minter Bonnie, Burch Katelyn, Stapel-Wax Jennifer
Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and South Dade Neonatology, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Adv Neonatal Care. 2013 Aug;13(4):247-51. doi: 10.1097/ANC.0b013e31828d02a1.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are increasingly recognized as a public health problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence for ASD is now 1 in 88. The prevalence of ASDs in children has increased over the past 2 decades, nearly doubling the prevalence since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began tracking these numbers. Infants are defined as premature when birth takes place before 37 weeks' gestation (259 days from the first day of the mother's last menstrual period). More than 4 million live births occur in the United States each year. Preterm births account for approximately half a million of those births. The rate of premature birth has increased by more than 20% between 1990 and 2006. Cognitive impairment and atypical brain development are thought to be sequelae of preterm delivery. Low birth weight and preterm birth place these infants at higher risk for disturbances in social interaction, communication, and other psychoaffective disorders in adulthood. Major advances in the field of early autism detection include validated screening tools to facilitate early screening for children with ASD as well as those considered to be at high risk for the disorder. Given the significant maternal and neonatal morbidities that are often coupled with prematurity, understanding the prevalence and risk factors that are implicated in changes in the fetal brain may provide researchers with vital links to autism in this population.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）日益被视为一个公共卫生问题。根据疾病控制与预防中心的数据，目前ASD的患病率为1/88。在过去20年里，儿童ASD的患病率有所上升，自疾病控制与预防中心开始跟踪这些数据以来，患病率几乎翻了一番。婴儿在妊娠37周前（从母亲末次月经首日起259天）出生被定义为早产。美国每年有超过400万例活产。其中早产约占50万例。1990年至2006年间，早产率上升了20%以上。认知障碍和非典型脑发育被认为是早产的后遗症。低出生体重和早产使这些婴儿在成年后出现社交互动、沟通及其他心理情感障碍的风险更高。早期自闭症检测领域的重大进展包括经过验证的筛查工具，以促进对ASD儿童以及被认为患该疾病风险高的儿童进行早期筛查。鉴于早产常伴有严重的孕产妇和新生儿疾病，了解与胎儿脑变化相关的患病率和风险因素可能为研究人员提供该人群中自闭症的重要关联线索。
