Centre for Child and Adolescent Health, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Centre for Academic Mental Health, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Sci Rep. 2017 Apr 27;7:46179. doi: 10.1038/srep46179.
Although there is considerable research into the genetic background of autism spectrum disorders, environmental factors are likely to contribute to the variation in prevalence over time. Rodent experiments indicate that environmental exposures can have effects on subsequent generations, and human studies indicate that parental prenatal exposures may play a part in developmental variation. Here we use the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) to test the hypothesis that if the mother or father (F1) had been exposed to their own mother's (F0) smoking during pregnancy, the offspring (F2) would be at increased risk of autism. We find an association between maternal grandmother smoking in pregnancy and grand daughters having adverse scores in Social Communication and Repetitive Behaviour measures that are independently predictive of diagnosed autism. In line with this, we show an association with actual diagnosis of autism in her grandchildren. Paternal grandmothers smoking in pregnancy showed no associations.
尽管有大量研究探讨了自闭症谱系障碍的遗传背景，但环境因素可能导致患病率随时间的变化。啮齿动物实验表明，环境暴露会对后代产生影响，而人类研究表明，父母在怀孕前的暴露可能在发育变异中起一定作用。在这里，我们使用阿冯纵向研究父母和儿童（ALSPAC）来检验这样一种假设，即如果母亲或父亲（F1）在怀孕期间接触到自己母亲（F0）的吸烟，那么后代（F2）患自闭症的风险就会增加。我们发现，孕妇吸烟的祖母与孙女在社会沟通和重复行为方面的不良评分之间存在关联，这些评分可以独立预测自闭症的诊断。与此一致的是，我们在她的孙子孙女中也发现了与自闭症实际诊断的关联。孕妇吸烟的祖父与孙女没有关联。
