The Association Between Neonatal Jaundice and Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Findings From the Millennium Cohort Study

To examine the association between neonatal jaundice requiring hospital treatment and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring by age 14 years. We used data from the Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative longitudinal study of children born in the UK. Data on neonatal jaundice requiring hospital treatment and potential confounders were maternal-reported and collected at 9-months postpartum. Data on ASD and ADHD were based on maternal reported doctor diagnosis. A diagnosis of ASD or ADHD were assumed if parents reported ASD or ADHD diagnosis at age 5, 7, 11 or 14 years. We conducted crude and adjusted logistic regression analyses to examine the association between neonatal jaundice and ASD and ADHD, adjusting for a range of socioeconomic, maternal and lifestyle factors. 18,294 singleton babies were included at baseline. Of these, 1,254 (6.9%) experienced neonatal jaundice that required hospital treatment, and there were 575 (3.7%) cases of ASD and 497 (3.2%) cases of ADHD by age 14 years. Findings were consistent across all crude and adjusted models, with the fully adjusted odds ratio for the association between neonatal jaundice and ASD being 1.43 [95% CI:1.09 to 1.89] and 1.26 [95% CI:0.92, 1.74] for ADHD. Neonatal jaundice was associated with an increased odds of developing ASD by age 14 years. While the link between neonatal jaundice and ADHD did not reach statistical significance, the possibility of an association cannot be ruled out. Future studies should investigate the biological mechanisms that may mediate this relationship.