Rate of Head Growth Decelerates and Symptoms Worsen in the Second Year of Life in Autism

Background Longitudinal studies of head circumference growth in infants later diagnosed with autism are needed to understand the accelerated head growth in this disorder. Methods We analyzed longitudinal head circumference data from birth to 3 years in 28 children later diagnosed with autism spectru...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological psychiatry (1969) 2007-02, Vol.61 (4), p.458-464
Main Authors: Dawson, Geraldine, Munson, Jeff, Webb, Sara Jane, Nalty, Theresa, Abbott, Robert, Toth, Karen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age Factors
Autism
Autistic Disorder - pathology
Autistic Disorder - physiopathology
Body Size
Cephalometry - methods
Child Development - physiology
Child, Preschool
Disease Progression
Head - growth & development
Head - pathology
head circumference
hierarchical linear models
Humans
infants
Linear Models
longitudinal
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Psychiatry
Reference Values
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Summary:Background Longitudinal studies of head circumference growth in infants later diagnosed with autism are needed to understand the accelerated head growth in this disorder. Methods We analyzed longitudinal head circumference data from birth to 3 years in 28 children later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder on the basis of individual growth curve analyses using hierarchical linear models. Results Head circumference Z scores relative to norms significantly increased in the autism sample from birth to 12 months, but this pattern did not persist beyond 12 months. Rather, the rate of change in head circumference from 12 to 36 months was not different from the normative sample. Conclusions These results suggest that a period of exceptionally rapid head growth occurs during the first year of life in autism; after 12 months of age, the rate of head circumference growth decelerates relative to the rate during the first year of life. Studies of behavioral development in infants later diagnosed with autism suggest that the period of acceleration of head growth precedes and overlaps with the onset of behavioral symptoms, and the period of deceleration coincides with a period of worsening of symptoms in the second year of life.
ISSN:0006-3223
1873-2402
DOI:10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.07.016