Associations of antenatal, infant and childhood nutrition with autism spectrum disorder in preschool children (DataSHIELD)

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neuro-developmental disorder that can be diagnosed in early childhood with early intervention therapy available. Good perinatal, infant and childhood nutrition have been shown to be essential for psycho-neurological development.
Studies investigating intake of supplements to improve micronutrient status during pregnancy had been shown to be protective for antenatal neurological deficits. Some indicators of perinatal nutrition include gestational weight gain (GWG) and birthweight adjusted for gestational age. Literature analysing GWG and birthweight adjusted for gestational age on early childhood ASD is scarce and inconsistent. WHO and UNICEF recommend that children are exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life, and continue to be breastfed for two years or beyond while eating adequate and safe age-appropriate complementary foods. Literature analysing duration of breastfeeding and introduction of solids with early childhood ASD is also scarce.
Children with ASD have nutritional intake issues, including mealtime disruptive behaviours and food selectivity, that limit quantity and variety of food intake. This leads to potential consequent negative health effects of malnutrition for young children with ASD. Literature analysing dietary supplements in early childhood ASD is scarce and inconsistent for childhood dietary intake of various food groups.
Our aims would be to use the LifeCycle cohorts to assess the associations between maternal antenatal, infant and early childhood nutrition with ASD at preschool age in an individual-participant meta-analysis approach.