Pregnancy risk factors in autism: a pilot study with artificial neural networks.

Journal: Pediatric research
Published Date:

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Autism is a multifactorial condition in which a single risk factor can unlikely provide comprehensive explanation for the disease origin. Moreover, due to the complexity of risk factors interplay, traditional statistics is often unable to explain the core of the problem due to the strong inherent nonlinearity of relationships. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of 27 potential risk factors related to pregnancy and peri-postnatal period.

Authors

  • Enzo Grossi
    Villa Santa Maria Foundation, Tavernerio, Italy. enzo.grossi@bracco.com.
  • Federica Veggo
    Department of Autism Research, Villa Santa Maria Institute, Tavernerio, Italy.
  • Antonio Narzisi
    Department of Developmental Neuroscience, IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Calambrone, Italy.
  • Angelo Compare
    Department of Psychology, University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy.
  • Filippo Muratori
    Department of Developmental Neuroscience, University of Pisa, Calambrone, Italy.