Previous studies showed that there is a positive association between mothers’ and children’s autistic traits. We also tested if this association is more pronounced in mothers with a higher pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI). The study was embedded in two cohorts with information available for 4,659 participants from the Generation R and for 179 participants from the Cambridge Ultrasound Siblings and Parents Project (CUSP) cohort. In both cohorts, maternal autistic traits were assessed using the short form of the Autism Spectrum Quotient, and information about maternal height and weight before pregnancy was obtained by questionnaire. Child autistic traits were assessed with the short form of Social Responsiveness Scale in Generation R (M = 13.5 years) and with the Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (Q-CHAT) in the CUSP cohort (M = 1.6 years). Higher maternal autistic traits were associated with higher autistic traits in toddlerhood (CUSP cohort; βadjusted = 0.20, p < 0.01), in early childhood (Generation R; βadjusted = 0.19, p < 0.01), and in early adolescence (Generation R; βadjusted = 0.16, p < 0.01). Furthermore, a higher maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was associated with higher child autistic traits, but only in Generation R (βadjusted = 0.03, p < 0.01). There was no significant moderating effect of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI on the association between autistic traits of mothers and children, neither in Generation R nor in CUSP. In addition, child autistic traits scores were significantly higher in mothers who were underweight and in mothers who were overweight compared to mothers with a healthy weight. We confirm the association between maternal and child autistic traits in toddlerhood, early childhood, and early adolescence. Potential interacting neurobiological processes remain to be confirmed.

中文翻译：

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母亲的自闭症特征和儿童自闭症特征之间的关联是否受到母亲孕前体重指数的调节？

先前的研究表明，母亲和孩子的自闭症特征之间存在正相关关系。我们还测试了这种关联在孕前体重指数 (BMI) 较高的母亲中是否更为明显。该研究分为两个队列，其中包含来自 R 世代的 4,659 名参与者和来自剑桥超声兄弟姐妹和家长项目 (CUSP) 队列的 179 名参与者的信息。在这两个队列中，使用简称自闭症谱商来评估母亲的自闭症特征，并通过问卷调查获得有关母亲怀孕前身高和体重的信息。儿童自闭症特征在 R 世代（M = 13.5 岁）中使用简式社会反应量表进行评估，在 CUSP 队列（M = 1.6 岁）中使用幼儿自闭症定量检查表 (Q-CHAT) 进行评估。较高的母亲自闭症特征与幼儿期（CUSP 队列；β 调整 = 0.20，p < 0.01）、幼儿期（R 代；β 调整 = 0.19，p < 0.01）和青春期早期（R 代；β 调整后）较高的自闭症特征相关。 = 0.16，p < 0.01）。此外，较高的母亲孕前 BMI 与较高的儿童自闭症特征相关，但仅限于 R 一代（β 调整 = 0.03，p < 0.01）。无论是在 R 世代还是在 CUSP 中，母亲孕前 BMI 对母亲和孩子的自闭症特征之间的关联都没有显着的调节作用。此外，与体重健康的母亲相比，体重不足和超重的母亲的儿童自闭症特征得分显着更高。我们证实了幼儿期、幼儿期和青春期早期母亲和儿童自闭症特征之间的关联。潜在的相互作用的神经生物学过程仍有待证实。