Pregnancy Planning and its Association with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Findings from the Study to Explore Early Development.

OBJECTIVES: To examine associations between pregnancy planning and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in offspring. METHODS: The Study to Explore Early Development (SEED), a multi-site case-control study, enrolled preschool-aged children with ASD, other DDs, and from the general population (POP). Some children with DDs had ASD symptoms but did not meet the ASD case definition. We examined associations between mother's report of trying to get pregnant (pregnancy planning) and (1) ASD and (2) ASD symptomatology (ASD group, plus DD with ASD symptoms group combined) (each vs. POP group). We computed odds ratios adjusted for demographic, maternal, health, and perinatal health factors (aORs) via logistic regression. Due to differential associations by race-ethnicity, final analyses were stratified by race-ethnicity. RESULTS: Pregnancy planning was reported by 66.4%, 64.8%, and 76.6% of non-Hispanic White (NHW) mothers in the ASD, ASD symptomatology, and POP groups, respectively. Among NHW mother-child pairs, pregnancy planning was inversely associated with ASD (aOR = 0.71 [95% confidence interval 0.56-0.91]) and ASD symptomatology (aOR = 0.67 [0.54-0.84]). Pregnancy planning was much less common among non-Hispanic Black mothers (28-32% depending on study group) and Hispanic mothers (49-56%) and was not associated with ASD or ASD symptomatology in these two race-ethnicity groups. CONCLUSION: Pregnancy planning was inversely associated with ASD and ASD symptomatology in NHW mother-child pairs. The findings were not explained by several adverse maternal or perinatal health factors. The associations observed in NHW mother-child pairs did not extend to other race-ethnicity groups, for whom pregnancy planning was lower overall.

Assessment of demographic and perinatal predictors of non-response and impact of non-response on measures of association in a population-based case control study: findings from the Georgia Study to Explore Early Development.

BACKGROUND: Participation in epidemiologic studies has declined, raising concerns about selection bias. While estimates derived from epidemiologic studies have been shown to be robust under a wide range of scenarios, additional empiric study is needed. The Georgia Study to Explore Early Development (GA SEED), a population-based case-control study of risk factors for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), provided an opportunity to explore factors associated with non-participation and potential impacts of non-participation on association studies. METHODS: GA SEED recruited preschool-aged children residing in metropolitan-Atlanta during 2007-2012. Children with ASD were identified from multiple schools and healthcare providers serving children with disabilities; children from the general population (POP) were randomly sampled from birth records. Recruitment was via mailed invitation letter with follow-up phone calls. Eligibility criteria included birth and current residence in study area and an English-speaking caregiver. Many children identified for potential inclusion could not be contacted. We used data from birth certificates to examine demographic and perinatal factors associated with participation in GA SEED and completion of the data collection protocol. We also compared ASD-risk factor associations for the final sample of children who completed the study with the initial sample of all likely ASD and POP children invited to potentially participate in the study, had they been eligible. Finally, we derived post-stratification sampling weights for participants who completed the study and compared weighted and unweighted associations between ASD and two factors collected via post-enrollment maternal interview: infertility and reproductive stoppage. RESULTS: Maternal age and education were independently associated with participation in the POP group. Maternal education was independently associated with participation in the ASD group. Numerous other demographic and perinatal factors were not associated with participation. Moreover, unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios for associations between ASD and several demographic and perinatal factors were similar between the final sample of study completers and the total invited sample. Odds ratios for associations between ASD and infertility and reproductive stoppage were also similar in unweighted and weighted analyses of the study completion sample. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that effect estimates from SEED risk factor analyses, particularly those of non-demographic factors, are likely robust.

Care and viral suppression during the last year of life among persons with HIV who died in 2012, 18 US jurisdictions.

Death due to HIV remains a leading cause of death among some US populations, yet little is known about HIV care before death. We used data from the National HIV Surveillance System to determine disease stage and care within 12 months prior to death among persons infected with HIV who died in 2012. Persons were considered to be in care within 12 months before death if they had ≥1 CD4 or viral load test results, and in continuous care if they had ≥2 CD4 or viral load test results at least 3 months apart. Viral suppression (viral load <200 copies/mL) was based on the most recent viral load test result in the 12 months before death. Among 7348 persons infected with HIV who died in 2012, 47.1% had late stage disease (AIDS) within 12 months before death. Overall, 85.7% had ≥1 test result, 64.3% had ≥2 tests at least 3 months apart, and 41.6% had a suppressed viral load. While blacks and Hispanics/Latinos had higher percentages of continuous care compared with whites, they had lower percentages of viral suppression and higher percentages with late stage disease. Viral suppression was higher among older persons. The majority had been diagnosed with HIV more than 5 years before death (86.3%). Although the majority of persons infected with HIV who died in 2012 had been diagnosed many years before death, almost half had late stage disease, and there were disparities in late stage disease and viral suppression by race/ethnicity and age.

Exercise during pregnancy and its association with gestational weight gain.

We examined the association between exercise during pregnancy and meeting gestational weight gain recommendations. Data came from the 2009 South Carolina Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (n = 856). Women reported their participation in exercise/sports activities before and during pregnancy, including the number of months and types of exercise. We developed an exercise index (EI), the product of the number of months spent in exercise and average metabolic equivalents for specific exercise. The 2009 Institute of Medicine's guideline was used to categorize gestational weight gain into three classes: inadequate, adequate, and excessive. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to adjust for confounders. Over 46 % of women exceeded the recommended weight gain during pregnancy. Nearly one third (31.9 %) of women reported exercising ≥3 times a week at any time during pregnancy. Compared to women who did not report this level of exercise during pregnancy, exercising women were more likely to meet gestational weight gain recommendations (32.7 vs. 18.7 %) and had a lower odds of excessive gestational weight gain [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 0.43, 95 % confidence interval 0.24-0.78]. Women with an EI above the median value of those women who exercised or women who exercised ≥3 times a week for 6-9 months during pregnancy had lower odds of excessive gestational weight gain (AOR for EI 0.20, 0.08-0.49; AOR for months 0.26, 0.12-0.56, respectively). Our findings support the need to promote or increase exercise during pregnancy to reduce the high proportion of women who are gaining excessive weight.

Maternal and Paternal Infertility Disorders and Treatments and Autism Spectrum Disorder: Findings from the Study to Explore Early Development.

Previous studies of associations between ASD and conception using assisted reproductive technology (ART) are inconsistent and few studies have examined associations with other infertility treatments or infertility disorders. We examined associations between ASD and maternal/paternal infertility disorders and numerous maternal treatments among 1538 mother-child pairs in the Study to Explore Early Development, a population-based case-control study. ASD was associated with any female infertility diagnosis and several specific diagnoses: blocked tubes, endometriosis, uterine-factor infertility, and polycystic ovarian syndrome. Stratified analyses suggested associations were limited to/much stronger among second or later births. The findings were not explained by sociodemographic factors such as maternal age or education or multiple or preterm birth. ASD was not associated with ART or non-ART infertility treatments.

HIV-Related Mortality Among Adults (≥ 18 years) of Various Hispanic or Latino Subgroups--United States, 2006-2010.

Hispanics or Latinos residing in the USA are disproportionately affected by HIV when compared to whites. Health outcomes for Hispanics or Latinos diagnosed with HIV infection may vary by Hispanic or Latino subgroup. We analyzed national mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics for the years 2006 to 2010 to examine differences in HIV-related mortality among Hispanics or Latinos by sociodemographic factors and by Hispanic or Latino subgroup. After adjusting for age, HIV-related death rates per 100,000 population were highest among Hispanics or Latinos who were male (45.6, 95 % confidence interval [CI], 44.4 to 46.9) compared to female (12.0, 95 % CI 11.4 to 12.6), or resided in the Northeast (75.1, 95 % CI 72.2 to 77.9) compared to other US regions at the time of death. The age-adjusted HIV-related death rate was highest among Puerto Ricans (100.9, 95 % CI 97.0 to 104.8) and lowest among Mexicans (16.9, 95 % CI 16.2 to 17.6). Among all deaths, the proportion of HIV-related deaths was more than four times as high among Puerto Ricans (adjusted prevalence ratio = 4.3, 95 % CI 4.1 to 4.5) compared to Mexicans. To ensure better health outcomes for Hispanics or Latinos living with HIV in the USA, medical care and treatment programs should be adapted to address the needs of various Hispanic or Latino subgroups.