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Is there an association between prenatal testosterone and autistic traits in adolescents?

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Dooley, Niamh 
Holt, Rosemary 
Tsompanidis, Alexandros 

Abstract

Prenatal testosterone (pT) is a crucial component in physiological masculinization in humans. In line with the Prenatal Sex Steroid Theory of autism, some studies have found a positive correlation between pT and autistic traits in childhood. However, effects in adolescence have not been explored. Hormonal and environmental changes occurring during puberty may alter the strength or the nature of prenatal effects on autistic traits. The current study examines if pT relates to autistic traits in a non-clinical sample of adolescents and young adults (N = 97, 170 observations; age 13-21 years old). It also explores pT interactions with pubertal stage and timing. PT concentrations were measured from amniotic fluid extracted in the 2nd trimester of gestation via amniocentesis conducted for clinical purposes. Autistic traits were measured by self- and parent-reports on the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) which provides a total score and 5 sub-scores (social skills, communication, imagination, attention switching and attention to detail). Self-reported pubertal stage was regressed on age to provide a measure of relative timing. We found no statistical evidence for a direct association between pT and autistic traits in this adolescent sample (males, females or full sample). Exploratory analyses suggested that pT correlated positively with autistic traits in adolescents with earlier puberty-onset, but statistical robustness of this finding was limited. Further exploratory post-hoc tests suggested the pT-by-pubertal timing interaction was stronger in males relative to females, in self-reported compared to parent-reported AQ and specifically for social traits. These findings require replication in larger samples. Findings have implications for understanding the effects of pT on human behavior, specifically existence of effects in adolescence.

Description

Keywords

Amniotic fluid, Autism, Fetal development, Prenatal testosterone, Puberty, Adolescent, Adult, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Autistic Disorder, Female, Gonadal Steroid Hormones, Humans, Male, Pregnancy, Self Report, Social Skills, Testosterone, Young Adult

Journal Title

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0306-4530
1873-3360

Volume Title

136

Publisher

Elsevier BV
Sponsorship
Wellcome Trust (091774/Z/10/Z)
European Commission and European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) FP7 Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) (777394)