Title:The Association between Labor Induction and Autism Spectrum Disorders Among Children: A Meta-Analysis
Volume: 17
Issue: 3
Author(s): Saeid Bashirian, Mahdieh Seyedi , Katayoon Razjouyan and Ensiyeh Jenabi *
Affiliation:
- Autism Spectrum Disorders Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan,Iran
Keywords:
ASD, autism, labor induction, meta-analysis, relative ratio, pooled odds ratios.
Abstract:
Background: It was hypothesized that the oxytocin used during labor could increase the
risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as ASD.
Objective: This meta-analysis pooled all observational studies to obtain the association between labor
induction and the risk of ASD among children.
We identified all published studies up to August 2020 by search in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science
and gray literature. The pooled odds ratios (OR), relative ratio (RR) and 95% confidence intervals
(CI (were calculated as random effect estimates of association among studies.
Results: The pooled estimates of OR and RR reported a significant association between labor induction
and ASD among children, respectively (OR = 1.09, 95% CI = 1.04 to 1.15) and (RR =
1.06, 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.09). The subgroup analyses were performed based on the adjusted form
and design of studies. OR in crude and adjusted studies were reported to be 1.25(1.01, 1.49) and
1.08(1.02, 1.14), respectively. A significant association was found in adjusted and crude studies.
There is no significant association between labor induction and ASD in case-control studies
(OR=1.08, 95% CI = 0.99, 1.17).
Conclusion: The findings showed that labor induction is associated with an increased risk of ASD
among children. Therefore, the findings support that clinical use of oxytocin during labor has a significant
negative impact on the long-term mental health of children.
