Prevalence estimate of the autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has significantly increased over the decades. Maternal body mass index (BMI) prior to pregnancy and gestational weight gain (GWG) have attracted attention as potential risk factors for offspring ASD, given noticeable increase in the prevalence of prepregnancy obesity and high prevalence of inappropriate GWG in recent years.

The project will examine the effects of maternal prepregnancy BMI and GWG on ASD among offspring, and explore the underlying mechanism. Our hypotheses are that prepregnancy obesity and inadequate/excessive GWG are associated with increased risk for offspring ASD and that adverse obstetric outcomes account for part of these effects.

If our hypotheses are supported, this project will shed light into the environmental base of ASD and aid in the development of preventative strategies. Moreover, with underlying pathways understood, interventions can be applied on the modifiable mediators.