Prefrontal Cortex Responses to Social Video Stimuli in Young Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting individuals worldwide and characterized by deficits in social interaction along with the presence of restricted interest and repetitive behaviors. Despite decades of behavioral research, little is known about the brain mechanisms that influence social behaviors among children with ASD. This, in part, is due to limitations of traditional imaging techniques specifically targeting pediatric populations.

First-trimester use of antiseizure medications and the risk of miscarriage: a population-based cohort study.

Background: Antiseizure medications (ASMs) during the first trimester of pregnancy have been associated with an increased risk of miscarriage.

Methods: We carried out a population-based cohort study using routinely collected healthcare data from the UK, 1995-2018. Pregnancies were identified in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink and we estimated the HR of miscarriage associated with prescriptions of ASMs during the first trimester of pregnancy, using Cox regression, adjusting for potential confounders, including ASM indications.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Health Outcomes Among Transition-Age Autistic Youth.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been associated with poor health outcomes in the general population. However, their impact on autistic youth remains unclear.

Objective: The primary objective was to understand how childhood adversity is related to the general health, mental health, and physical health of transition-age autistic youth.

Categorizing and identifying preferred interests in autistic toddlers.

Preferred interests are characteristic of autism spectrum disorder and are reported by parents starting at an early age. However, limited research has explored the presentation of preferred interests in toddlerhood. Previous literature suggests that both the intensity and type of preferred interests held by autistic individuals differ from those held by peers with developmental delay and no diagnosis and that autistic interests are more unusual in nature.

Food, nutrition, and autism: from soil to fork.

Food and nutrition-related factors have the potential to impact development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and quality of life for people with ASD, but gaps in evidence exist. On 10 November 2022, Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and Food and Nutrition Innovation Institute hosted a 1-d meeting to explore the evidence and evidence gaps regarding the relationships of food and nutrition with ASD. This meeting report summarizes the presentations and deliberations from the meeting.

Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Children's Risk of Autism, ADHD, and Intellectual Disability.

Importance: Several studies suggest that acetaminophen (paracetamol) use during pregnancy may increase risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children. If true, this would have substantial implications for management of pain and fever during pregnancy.

Objective: To examine the associations of acetaminophen use during pregnancy with children's risk of autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and intellectual disability.

Multigenerational association between smoking and autism spectrum disorder: findings from a nationwide prospective cohort study.

Animal studies have shown that exposure to cigarette smoke during pregnancy can induce neurobehavioral anomalies in multiple subsequent generations. However, little work has examined such effects in humans. We examined the risk of grandchild autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in association with grandmother's smoking during pregnancy, using data from 53 562 mothers and grandmothers and 120 267 grandchildren in Nurses' Health Study II.

Role of Primary Care Clinician Concern During Screening for Early Identification of Autism.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the added value of primary care clinician (PCC)-indicated concern during primary care universal standardized screening in early identification of autism.

Methods: Toddlers were screened for autism during primary care checkups (n = 7,039, aged 14.24-22.

Mental workload assessment by monitoring brain, heart, and eye with six biomedical modalities during six cognitive tasks.

Introduction: The efficiency and safety of complex high precision human-machine systems such as in aerospace and robotic surgery are closely related to the cognitive readiness, ability to manage workload, and situational awareness of their operators. Accurate assessment of mental workload could help in preventing operator error and allow for pertinent intervention by predicting performance declines that can arise from either work overload or under stimulation. Neuroergonomic approaches based on measures of human body and brain activity collectively can provide sensitive and reliable assessment of human mental workload in complex training and work environments.

Theory of Mind and Social Informant Discrepancy in Autism.

When autistic youth are asked to assess their own social skills, they frequently rate themselves more favorably than their parents rate them. The magnitude of this informant discrepancy has been shown to relate to key clinical outcomes such as treatment response. It has been proposed that this discrepancy arises from difficulties with Theory of Mind.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Community Mental Health Use Among Autistic Adolescents and Young Adults.

Purpose: The purpose of this cohort study was to evaluate differences in rate of co-occurring mental health (MH) conditions among transition-age autistic youth (TAYA) who are Black, indigenous, and other people of color, and to identify enabling variables associated with any community MH visit in this population.

Methods: Medicare-Medicaid Linked Enrollees Analytic Data Source 2012 data were used for this study. TAYA 14-29 years old who received fee-for-service Medicare, Medicaid, or both were included.

Social competence in autism: A structural equation modeling approach.

Autistic individuals present with difficulties in social competence (e.g., navigating social interactions and fostering relationships).

"I'm dealing with a health care system that doesn't get it": Barriers and facilitators to inclusive healthcare for autistic adults.

Research has suggested that autistic adults may have a bigger chance of having mental health and physical health conditions such as depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, diabetes, obesity, and heart problems than adults without autism. Unfortunately, the unique healthcare needs of autistic adults are often overlooked, so it is not clear why autistic adults have worse health or what can be done to improve it. This study wants to find out the challenges autistic adults experience in taking care of their health and in going to different doctors.

Gestational thyroid hormones and autism-related traits in the EARLI and HOME studies.

Thyroid hormones are essential for neurodevelopment. Few studies have considered associations with quantitatively measured autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-related traits, which may help elucidate associations for a broader population. Participants were drawn from two prospective pregnancy cohorts: the Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation (EARLI), enrolling pregnant women who already had a child with ASD, and the Health Outcomes and Measures of the Environment (HOME) Study, following pregnant women from the greater Cincinnati, OH area.

Demographic and health characteristics associated with fish and -3 fatty acid supplement intake during pregnancy: results from pregnancy cohorts in the ECHO programme.

Objective: -3 fatty acid consumption during pregnancy is recommended for optimal pregnancy outcomes and offspring health. We examined characteristics associated with self-reported fish or -3 supplement intake.

Design: Pooled pregnancy cohort studies.

Examining the Process and Impact of Social Problem Solving in Autistic Children.

Social problem solving (SPS) represents a social cognitive reasoning process that gives way to behavior when individuals are navigating challenging social situations. Autistic individuals have been shown to struggle with specific aspects of SPS, which, in turn, has been related to social difficulties in children. However, no previous work has measured how SPS components not only relate to one another but also discretely and conjointly predict autism-related symptoms and social difficulties in autistic children, specifically.

The Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on Autistic Children and Their Families.

Purpose: We used data from the National Survey of Children's Health to (1) examine differences in economic hardship and safety net program use after the implementation of federal relief efforts, and (2) assess whether the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated autism-based disparities in hardship and program use.

Methods: We examined five dimensions of economic hardship (poverty, food insecurity, medical hardship, medical costs, and foregone work) and four safety net programs (cash assistance, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and free or reduced-cost meals). First, we calculated adjusted prevalence and odds ratios to compare pre-COVID (2018-2019) and during COVID (2021) outcomes by autism status.

Foster Care Involvement Among Youth With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Importance: Youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) are more likely to be placed in foster care than other youth. Examining the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of youth with I/DD in the foster care system is critical for identifying disparities and understanding service needs.

Objective: To produce a population-level analysis of youth with I/DD in foster care that examines differences in rates of foster care involvement based on race, ethnicity, age, and sex.

Social Anhedonia Accounts for Greater Variance in Internalizing Symptoms than Autism Symptoms in Autistic and Non-Autistic Youth.

Purpose: Social anhedonia is a transdiagnostic trait that reflects reduced pleasure from social interaction. It has historically been associated with autism, however, very few studies have directly examined behavioral symptoms of social anhedonia in autistic youth. We investigated rates of social anhedonia in autistic compared to non-autistic youth and the relative contributions of autism and social anhedonia symptoms to co-occurring mental health.