This study is a prospective follow-up of a cohort of 283 low birth prematurely born children between the years 1998 and 2002. All were admitted after birth to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Lis Maternity Hospital at the Tel Aviv Medical Center in Israel . We recruited 213 children; 46% males, mean gestational age 30.8±2.4 and mean birth weight 1237±266 grams, 56% were product of multiple pregnancy. The mean age of the children was 12.8 years (range 11.1 to 14.4 years). We reviewed the medical charts of all the participants and gathered data on neonatal complications, developmental milestones and current behavioral diagnoses. The parents were requested to answer the A.S.S.Q. (Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire) that is accepted as a reliable screening tool for adolescents with social communication disorder related to the Autism Spectrum with high cognitive and adaptive functioning.
The incidence of ASD in the cohort was 24/213 (11.3%), and the incidence of ART was 33%. There were no significant differences in the incidence of ASD between the ART and naturally conceived groups. In a comparison between children in the ASD group and the typically developed preterm group, we found that the variables that differed significantly between the two groups were gender (more males in the ASD group, p=0.015), sepsis (p=0.003), apnea episodes (p=0.49) and hyperbilirubinemia (p=0.003).
In conclusion, the incidence of ASD in a cohort of preterm was found to be about ten times the general incidence reported in Israel to date.
