The Association of Prenatal Vitamins and Folic Acid Supplement Intake with Odds of Autism Spectrum Disorder in a High-Risk Sibling Cohort, the Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation (EARLI)

We examined maternal prenatal vitamin use or supplemental folic acid intake during month one of pregnancy for association with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation, an enriched-risk pregnancy cohort. Total folic acid intake was calculated from monthly prenatal vitamins, multivitamins, and other supplement reports. Clinical assessments through age 3 years classified children as ASD (n = 38) or non-ASD (n = 153). In pregnancy month one, prenatal vitamin use (59.7%) was not significantly associated with odds of ASD (OR = 0.70, 95%CI 0.32, 1.53). Sample size was limited and residual confounding was possible. Given the estimated effect sizes in this and previous work, prenatal vitamin intake during early pregnancy could be a clinically useful preventative measure for ASD.