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Aim: The aim of this study was to determine whether gastrointestinal problems in early childhood relate to autistic-like traits in a general population sample., Method: The parents of 804 children (442 females; 362 males) reported at 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-year follow-ups whether their child had been taken to a hospital, general practitioner, or health clinic for any of five gastrointestinal symptoms: (1) constipation; (2) diarrhoea; (3) abdominal bloating, discomfort, or irritability; (4) gastro-oesophageal reflux or vomiting; and (5) feeding issues or food selectivity. Parents also reported whether their child had received the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination. Autistic-like traits were measured when the children had reached early adulthood (mean age 19 y 7 mo; SD 0.63 y) using a self-report questionnaire, the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ)., Results: There was no statistically significant difference in AQ scores between those who had (n=133) and those who had not (n=671) experienced early gastrointestinal symptoms. χ(2) analyses revealed that the children with early gastrointestinal problems were no more likely to be represented in the upper quintile of scores on any of the AQ scales. The measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination was unrelated to gastrointestinal symptoms or AQ scores., Interpretation: Parent-reported gastrointestinal problems in early childhood are unrelated to self-reported autistic-like traits in the general population., (© The Authors. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology © 2011 Mac Keith Press.)

Aim: Fetal androgens influence fetal growth as well as postnatal neurocognitive ability. However, to our knowledge, no published study has prospectively examined the impact of early-life androgens on infant brain growth. We report the association between circulating fetal androgen levels, measured from umbilical-cord blood at birth, and a proxy measure of brain growth: head circumference., Method: Participants were 82 unselected female infants from a large representative birth cohort (mean gestational age 39.4 wks, SD 1.7). Umbilical-cord blood was obtained at birth and analysed for androgen concentrations (total testosterone, androstenedione, dehyrdroepiandrosterone, and its sulphated metabolite). Head circumference and two other measures of growth - weight (mean 3311.4 g, SD 461.3) and length - were measured within 3 days of birth and again at approximately 1 year of age (mean age 13.1 mo, SD 1.1)., Results: Multivariate linear regressions found an inverse association between levels of free testosterone and growth in head circumference (correlation=-.24), even when adjusting for sociodemographic/obstetric covariates and head size at birth. Growth in weight and length could not be predicted by free testosterone concentration., Interpretation: This is the first report of an association between prenatal androgen levels and postnatal growth in head circumference. These findings suggest that early-life androgens may impact brain development during infancy.

Rates of diagnosis of autism have risen since 1980, raising the question of whether some children who previously had other diagnoses are now being diagnosed with autism. We applied contemporary diagnostic criteria for autism to adults with a history of developmental language disorder, to discover whether diagnostic substitution has taken place. A total of 38 adults (aged 15-31y; 31 males, seven females) who had participated in studies of developmental language disorder during childhood were given the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule--Generic. Their parents completed the Autism Diagnostic Interview--Revised, which relies largely on symptoms present at age 4 to 5 years to diagnose autism. Eight individuals met criteria for autism on both instruments, and a further four met criteria for milder forms of autistic spectrum disorder. Most individuals with autism had been identified with pragmatic impairments in childhood. Some children who would nowadays be diagnosed unambiguously with autistic disorder had been diagnosed with developmental language disorder in the past. This finding has implications for our understanding of the epidemiology of autism.