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. Gestational thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (FT4) were measured in mid-pregnancy 16 (±3) weeks gestation serum samples. ASD-related traits were measured using the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) at ages 3–8 years. The association was examined using quantile regression, adjusting for maternal and sociodemographic factors. 278 participants (132 from EARLI, 146 from HOME) were included. TSH distributions were similar across cohorts, while FT4 levels were higher in EARLI compared to HOME. In pooled analyses, particularly for those in the highest SRS quantile (95th percentile), higher FT4 levels were associated with increasing SRS scores (β = 5.21, 95% CI = 0.93, 9.48), and higher TSH levels were associated with decreasing SRS scores (β = −6.94, 95% CI = −11.04, −2.83). The association between TSH and SRS remained significant in HOME for the 95% percentile of SRS scores (β = −6.48, 95% CI = −12.16, −0.80), but not EARLI. Results for FT4 were attenuated when examined in the individual cohorts. Our results add to evidence that gestational thyroid hormones may be associated with ASD-related outcomes by suggesting that relationships may differ across the distribution of ASD-related traits and by familial likelihood of ASD.

中文翻译：

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EARLI 和 HOME 研究中的妊娠甲状腺激素和自闭症相关特征

甲状腺激素对于神经发育至关重要。很少有研究考虑与定量测量的自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 相关特征的关联，这可能有助于阐明更广泛人群的关联。参与者来自两个前瞻性妊娠队列：早期自闭症风险纵向调查（EARLI），招募已经生有患有自闭症谱系障碍的孩子的孕妇，以及健康结果和环境措施（HOME）研究，跟踪来自更大范围的孕妇。俄亥俄州辛辛那提地区。在妊娠中期 16 (±3) 周妊娠血清样本中测量妊娠促甲状腺激素 (TSH) 和游离甲状腺素 (FT4)。使用社会反应量表 (SRS) 在 3-8 岁时测量 ASD 相关特征。使用分位数回归检查了这种关联，并调整了母亲和社会人口因素。共有 278 名参与者（132 名来自 EARLI，146 名来自 HOME）。各个队列中的 TSH 分布相似，而 EARLI 中的 FT4 水平高于 HOME。在汇总分析中，特别是对于那些处于最高 SRS 分位数（第 95 个百分位）的患者，较高的 FT4 水平与 SRS 评分的增加相关（β  = 5.21，95% CI = 0.93, 9.48），而较高的 TSH 水平与 SRS 评分降低相关（β  = -6.94，95% CI = -11.04，-2.83）。 TSH 和 SRS 之间的关联在 HOME 中对于 SRS 评分的 95% 百分位数仍然显着（β  = -6.48，95% CI = -12.16，-0.80），但在 EARLI 中则不然。在各个队列中进行检查时，FT4 的结果有所减弱。我们的研究结果表明妊娠甲状腺激素可能与 ASD 相关结果相关，表明这种关系可能因 ASD 相关特征的分布和 ASD 家族可能性而异。