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

doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.07.016

Biological Psychiatry

Volume 61, Issue 4, 15 February 2007, Pages 458-464

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.07.016 Get rights and content

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.

Section snippets

Participants

Participants were 28 male children with ASD (17 children with autistic disorder and 11 children with pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified [PDD-NOS]) who were administered a diagnostic evaluation at age 3–4 years (M age = 42.7 months, SD = 4.1, range 37–52 months) as part of their participation in a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development–funded longitudinal study. The mean Mullen Composite Standard Score for the sample was 61.5 (SD = 17.8, range 49–106).

Results

OFC scores obtained from medical records are shown in Figure 1. To compare the growth rates for children measured at varying points in time from birth to 3 years, the metric data for head circumference, height, and weight were transformed to Z scores using the Centers for Disease Control (2002) Growth Charts normative data for gender- and age-matched children, developed by the National Center for Health Statistics. If an individual child’s rate of change in OFC Z scores is positive (Z scores

Discussion

In this study, we examined head circumference growth longitudinally in 28 children with autism spectrum disorder from birth through 36 months of age. Whereas children with ASD, on average, did not have significantly larger head circumference at birth, by 1 year of age head circumference was nearly 1 SD larger than the national CDC norms. This unusual and rapid increase in head growth from birth to 12 months was reflected in a significant difference in slope in OFC Z scores during this period.

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Microcephaly in preschool children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
2021, Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders
The present study presents results of head circumference (HC) measurements in a group of children being part of a larger group of children referred for neuropsychiatric assessment to a neuropsychiatric assessment team in Sweden.
Of the 126 children included in the present study HC was possible to measure in 114 individuals. However, two of these children were not diagnosed since they did not conclude the study, leaving 112 children for further assessment. In addition, birth data was recovered either from the digital birth sheet used in Sweden for the registration of birth data, or in a few cases from the Child Care Centers or medical journals if the child had been admitted to hospital care after birth.
Of the 112 individuals, only one individual, a boy, diagnosed with ICD-10 Autism, had a HC above the 97.5th percentile at birth. At the physical assessment included in the study one individual, a boy (not the same boy as mentioned above) was found to have a HC above the 97.5th percentile. Hence, 1.2 % of the boys in this study with an ICD-10 ASD diagnosis were macrocephalic. In contrast, 6.7 % of the boys, and 8% of the girls, who received an ICD-10 ASD diagnosis had a HC below the 2.5th percentile and were considered microcephalic at the assessment.
The results from this study could not confirm previous research arguing macrocephaly to be considerably more common in ASD than in the general population. However, in contrast, the results from this study indicated that microcephaly could be more common in children with ICD-10 ASD, for both sexes, than in the general population. Since none of the children had been microcephalic at birth the results indicate a relative decrease in HC over time in these individuals.
Aging in Autism Spectrum Disorder
2020, American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
Most research on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has focused on younger individuals, but there is increasing awareness that more must be known about the clinical needs and outcomes of older adults with ASD. This article reviews what is known about barriers to recognition in the elderly, the prevalence of ASD over the lifespan, outcomes in adulthood in comparison to the general population, co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses, and healthcare needs in this population.
Serotonin and development
2020, Handbook of Behavioral Neuroscience
Serotonin is the most widely distributed monoamine in the mammalian brain and plays an extensive role both in adult brain function and in development of the immature brain. These two components of serotonin's actions coexist throughout life, in varying amounts. During brain development, serotonin regulates its own final terminal density (autoregulation) cortical and circuitry development and specific connections between the thalamus and cortex. Increasingly, these properties are being studied in animal models so that selective serotonin receptor actions at critical periods are known. By understanding these receptor effects, and knowing selective pharmacological agents for these receptors, there will be an increasing understanding of the potential utility of developmental pharmacology—that is using pharmacotherapy to improve the outcome of developmental disorders related to serotonin deficits, including autism, sudden infant death syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, rare genetic syndromes, and the effects of early childhood adversity.
Anatomical brain abnormalities and early detection of autism
2018, The Lancet Psychiatry
Head circumference, body growth and development quotient in autism spectrum disorders are related in Chongqing, China
2018, Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders
Citation Excerpt :
The relationship between accelerated growth in head circumference and intellectual development is still unclear. Some studies have shown that larger head circumference was related to more severe symptoms and greater deficits in adaptive social functioning and IQ (Chaste et al., 2007; Chawarska et al., 2011). However, other studies have not described any correlation between cranial circumference and specific abilities or cognitive functions (de Vinck-Baroody et al., 2015; Deutsch & Joseph, 2003; Gillberg & de Souza, 2002).
It is unclear whether increased head circumference (HC) is actually an artifact of an overall overgrowth phenomenon or specific to the brain at all in autism spectrum disorders. This study compared the head circumferences, body weight and height of ASD children with a control group. We also discuss whether HC, body weight and height are correlated with development quotients in ASD children.
We recruited 83 children with ASD (aged 2–5 years); they were gender and age matched to typically developing children in Chongqing (China) from 2013 to 2015. Their head circumference, body weight and height were collected. The ASD group was tested for the developmental quotient (DQ), which includes gross motor, fine motor, linguistic, personal-social and adaptive functioning.
Our results showed that head circumference in the ASD group is significantly different from HC in the control group. The rate of macrocephaly was higher in the children with ASD compared with the control group. Some domains of DQ have statistically significant negative correlation with head circumference, weight and height. After adjusting for confounding factors, the fine motor was associated negatively with HC. Personal-social ability was associated negatively with weight. Gross motor was correlated negatively with the height.
Based on our results, we found significant HC differences in ASD group while lack of effect of either height or weight at the age of 2–5. HC, weight and height were separately negative correlated with some domains of development quotients. Further research is needed to understand the relationship between physical indicators and development level in autism.
Overview of genetic models of autism spectrum disorders
2018, Progress in Brain Research
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of neurodevelopment disorders that are characterized by heterogenous cognitive deficits and genetic factors. As more ASD risk genes are identified, genetic animal models have been developed to parse out the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of ASD. In this review, we discuss a subset of genetic models of ASD, focusing on those that have been widely studied and strongly linked to ASD. We focus our discussion of these models in the context of the theories and potential mechanisms of ASD, including disruptions in cell growth and proliferation, spine dynamics, synaptic transmission, excitation/inhibition balance, intracellular signaling, neuroinflammation, and behavior. In addition to ASD pathophysiology, we examine the limitations and challenges that genetic models pose for the study of ASD biology. We end with a review of innovative techniques and concepts of ASD pathology that can be further applied to and studied using genetic ASD models.

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

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Section snippets

Participants

Results

Discussion

Int J Dev Neurosci

J Applied Dev Psychol

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

Biol Psychiatry

Int J Dev Neurosci

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders

Autism during infancy: A retrospective video analysis of sensory-motor and social behaviors at 9–12 months of age

J Autism Dev Disord

Relationship between head circumference and brain volume in healthy normal toddlers, children, and adults

Neuropediatrics

Hierarchical Linear Models: Applications and Data Analysis Methods

Brief report: Prompted pretend play in autism

J Autism Dev Disord

An experimental investigation of social-cognitive abilities in infants with autism: Clinical implications

Infant Ment Health J

Evidence of brain overgrowth in the first year of life in autism

JAMA

Neuropsychological correlates of early autistic symptoms

Child Dev

Children with autism fail to orient to naturally occurring social stimuli

J Autism Dev Disord

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