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Dooley N, Ruigrok A, Holt R, et al. Is there an association between prenatal testosterone and autistic traits in adolescents?. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2021;136:105623doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105623.
Dooley, N., Ruigrok, A., Holt, R., Allison, C., Tsompanidis, A., Waldman, J., Auyeung, B., Lombardo, M. V., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2021). Is there an association between prenatal testosterone and autistic traits in adolescents?. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 136105623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105623
Dooley, Niamh, et al. "Is there an association between prenatal testosterone and autistic traits in adolescents?." Psychoneuroendocrinology vol. 136 (2021): 105623. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105623
Dooley N, Ruigrok A, Holt R, Allison C, Tsompanidis A, Waldman J, Auyeung B, Lombardo MV, Baron-Cohen S. Is there an association between prenatal testosterone and autistic traits in adolescents?. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2021 Dec 05;136:105623. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105623. Epub 2021 Dec 05. PMID: 34896742.
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Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2021 Dec 05;136:105623. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105623. Epub 2021 Dec 05.

Is there an association between prenatal testosterone and autistic traits in adolescents?.

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Niamh Dooley, Amber Ruigrok, Rosemary Holt, Carrie Allison, Alexandros Tsompanidis, Jack Waldman, Bonnie Auyeung, Michael V Lombardo, Simon Baron-Cohen

Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland; Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK. Electronic address: [email protected].
  2. Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK.
  3. Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK; Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK.
  4. Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK; Laboratory for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems @UniTn,Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rovereto, Italy.

PMID: 34896742 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105623

Abstract

Prenatal testosterone (pT) is a crucial component in physiological masculinization in humans. In line with the Prenatal Sex Steroid Theory of autism, some studies have found a positive correlation between pT and autistic traits in childhood. However, effects in adolescence have not been explored. Hormonal and environmental changes occurring during puberty may alter the strength or the nature of prenatal effects on autistic traits. The current study examines if pT relates to autistic traits in a non-clinical sample of adolescents and young adults (N = 97, 170 observations; age 13-21 years old). It also explores pT interactions with pubertal stage and timing. PT concentrations were measured from amniotic fluid extracted in the 2nd trimester of gestation via amniocentesis conducted for clinical purposes. Autistic traits were measured by self- and parent-reports on the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) which provides a total score and 5 sub-scores (social skills, communication, imagination, attention switching and attention to detail). Self-reported pubertal stage was regressed on age to provide a measure of relative timing. We found no statistical evidence for a direct association between pT and autistic traits in this adolescent sample (males, females or full sample). Exploratory analyses suggested that pT correlated positively with autistic traits in adolescents with earlier puberty-onset, but statistical robustness of this finding was limited. Further exploratory post-hoc tests suggested the pT-by-pubertal timing interaction was stronger in males relative to females, in self-reported compared to parent-reported AQ and specifically for social traits. These findings require replication in larger samples. Findings have implications for understanding the effects of pT on human behavior, specifically existence of effects in adolescence.

Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Amniotic fluid; Autism; Fetal development; Prenatal testosterone; Puberty

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