Autism Spectrum Disorder Risk in Relation to Maternal Mid-Pregnancy Serum Hormone and Protein Markers from Prenatal Screening in California.

Doctors tested leftover blood from routine prenatal screens. They looked at three hormone levels taken around week 17 of pregnancy.

They matched these lab values to later autism diagnoses in California kids. The sample was large and came from state birth records.

Low estriol, high alpha-fetoprotein, and very high or very low hCG each nudged autism odds up a little.

The shifts were small, but they showed up across thousands of pregnancies.

Deserno et al. (2017) and Aller et al. (2023) tell a similar story. They used mom’s body hair or testosterone levels as stand-ins for hormones and also saw a slight rise in autism odds.

Granillo et al. (2022) looks like a clash at first. They found no link between mom’s androgens and autism in high-risk baby brothers and sisters. The key difference is the group they studied. Lauren’s team only looked at siblings who already had a higher chance of autism. In that already-loaded deck, hormone levels did not add new information.

Zhu et al. (2020) widen the lens. Their meta-analysis shows moms with autoimmune diseases like lupus also have slightly more kids with autism. Hormones and immune problems may both sit on the same early-pregnancy pathway.

You cannot change prenatal hormones, but you can use the clue. When a chart shows odd second-trimester lab values, flag it for closer developmental watch. Pair this with questions about autoimmune history. The signal is weak, so it will not change diagnosis, but it can speed referral if delays show up later.