Low birth weight (<2,500 g) and preterm birth (<37 weeks) were found to be associated with increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however, the data regarding the entire birth weight (BW) and gestational age (GA) range are inconclusive. In this population nested case–control study, based on the Israeli National Insurance Institute records, we aimed to estimate the associations in the Israeli population. The study population included all children born between 2000 and 2012 and diagnosed with ASD (N = 12,635 cases), and a random 20% sample of children born in the same period who were not diagnosed with ASD (N = 369,548 controls). We used multiple logistic regression models to calculate the risk of ASD for each BW and GA category, adjusted for covariates (child sex, maternal age, paternal age, population group, maternal wage, paternal wage, having a sibling with ASD, multiple gestation and socioeconomic status). BW < 3,000 g and GA < 39 weeks were associated with higher risk of ASD, including BW of 2,500–3,000 g (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.18; 95% CI, 1.12–1.24, in comparison to the 3,000–3,500 g category) and GA of 37 & 38 weeks (AOR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.25–1.45 and AOR, 1.13; 95% CI 1.06–1.20, respectively; in comparison to GA of 40 weeks). To account for the high correlation between GA and BW, we modeled BW percentiles for gestational age and found that the BW < 20th percentile was associated with an increased risk of ASD (AOR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.01–1.19). These results demonstrate that associations of ASD with BW and GA are not limited to commonly used clinical cutoffs. Autism Res 2020, 13: 655–665. © 2020 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

中文翻译：

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出生体重和自闭症谱系障碍：基于人群的嵌套病例对照研究。

低出生体重（<2,500克）和早产（<37周）与自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的风险增加相关，但是，有关整个出生体重（BW）和胎龄（GA）的数据范围尚无定论。在根据以色列国家保险研究所的记录进行的该人群嵌套病例对照研究中，我们旨在估计以色列人口中的协会。研究人群包括所有在2000年至2012年之间出生并被确诊为ASD的儿童（N = 12,635例），以及同期同期未诊断为ASD的20％的儿童随机抽样（N= 369,548个控件）。我们使用了多个logistic回归模型来计算每个BW和GA类别的ASD风险，并调整了协变量（儿童性别，母亲年龄，父亲年龄，人口群体，母亲工资，父亲工资，与ASD同胞，多胎妊娠和社会经济状况）。BW <3,000 g和GA <39周与较高的ASD风险相关，包括BW为2,500–3,000 g（校正后的优势比[AOR]为1.18； 95％CI为1.12–1.24，而3,000–3,500 g类别）和GA分别为37和38周（AOR为1.35； 95％CI为1.25-1.45和AOR为1.13； 95％CI 1.06-1.20；与GA为40周相比）。为了说明GA和BW之间的高度相关性，我们对胎龄的BW百分位数进行了建模，发现BW <20％的百分数与ASD的风险增加相关（AOR，1.10；95％CI，1.01-1.19）。这些结果表明，ASD与BW和GA的关联不限于常用的临床临界值。Autism Res 2020，13：655-665。©2020国际自闭症研究协会，Wiley Periodicals，Inc.。