Study finds no connection between maternal flu and child autism

Mothers who experience influenza infections at any time during pregnancy are not more likely to give birth to children with autism, a new study has confirmed.

Researchers from Kaiser Permanente Northern California reached this conclusion after assessing data from 196,929 children born between 2000 and 2010 at a gestational age of at least 24 weeks.

Additionally, no associations were seen between an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders and influenza vaccination during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.

Although a suggestion of an increased risk of autism was seen with maternal vaccination in the first trimester, the authors noted that this finding was likely due to chance and was not statistically significant on balance.

They concluded: "While we do not advocate changes in vaccine policy or practice, we believe that additional studies are warranted to further evaluate any potential associations between first-trimester maternal influenza vaccination and autism."

It was noted that the evidence of this study was not enough to demonstrate causal relationships, while unmeasured mitigating factors might have also been involved.

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