New Study Finds No Link Between Premature Birth and Autism

A new study from Israel finds no significant link between premature birth and autism. Researchers analyzed records from nearly 115,000 Jewish, Muslim, and Bedouin patients who delivered between 2005 and 2017. About 93% of the births were considered at term, which is 37 weeks or longer.

While the initial results showed a possible link between autism and pre-term delivery, after adjusting for factors such as ethnicity, maternal age, and the infant's size and gestational age, no link was found. The lead author says that the exact cause of autism is complex, but based on their data, a single obstetric factor is unlikely to be the cause of ASD. A more plausible theory involves the simultaneous presence of multiple factors.

In the US, an estimated one in 36 children has autism. Worldwide, one in 100 is diagnosed with the disorder.