Abstract
Existing evidence suggests an excess of winter births in schizophrenia and inconsistent results for other psychiatric conditions. The present study examined seasonal effects of birth among autistic individuals. Results revealed an excess of spring and carly summer births and an underrepresentation of winter and fall births. However, this pattern was obtained only for the male, nonverbal, and lower-functioning autistic subgroup.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Tramer M: Uber die biologische Bedeutung des Geburtsmonats, insbesondere fur die Psychosenerkrankung.Schweiz Arch Neurol Neurochir Psychiatr, 24:17–24, 1929.
Hare EH, Price JS: Mental disorder and season of birth: Comparison of psychoses with neurosis.Br J Psychiatry, 115:533–540, 1968.
Dalen P: Month of birth in schizophrenia.Acta Psychiatr Scand [Suppl],203:55–60, 1968.
Odegard O: Season of birth in the general population and in patients with mental disorder in Norway.Br J Psychiatry, 125:397–405, 1974.
Videbech T, Weeke A, Dupont A: Endogenous psychoses and season of birth.Acta Psychiatr Scand, 50:202–218, 1974.
Barry H, Barry H Jr: Season of birth: An epidemiological study in psychiatry.Arch Gen Psychiatry, 5:292–300, 1961.
Torrey EF, Peterson MR: The viral hypothesis of schizophrenia.Schizophr Bull, 2:136–146, 1976.
Buck C, Simpson H: Season of birth among the sibs of schizophrenics.Br J Psychiatry, 132:358–360, 1978.
Parker G, Neilson M: Mental disorder and season of birth — a southern hemisphere study.Br J Psychiatry, 129:355–361, 1976.
Parker G, Balza B: Season of birth and schizophrenia — an equatorial study.Acta Psychiatr Scand 56:143–146, 1977.
Pasamanick B, Knobloch H: Seasonal variation in complications of pregnancy.Obstet Gynecol, 12:110–112, 1958.
Edwards JH: The recognition and estimation of cyclic trends.Ann Hum Genet, 25:83–87, 1961.
Leck I: Incidence and epidemicity of Down's syndrome.Lancet, 2:457, 1966.
Nielsen J, Bruun Petersen G, Therkelsen AJ: Seasonal variation in the birth of children with aneuploid chromosome abnormalities.Hum Genet 19:67–74, 1973.
Wharton JE, Karnes FA: Season of birth and intelligence in samples of exceptional children.Psychol Rep, 49:649–650, 1981.
McKeown T, Record RG: Seasonal incidence of congenital malformations of the central nervous system.Lancet, 1:192–196, 1951.
Edwards JH: Congenital malformations of the central nervous system in Scotland.Brit J Prev Soc Med, 12:115–130, 1958.
Elwood JH: Anencephalus in Belfast. Incidence and secular and seasonal variations, 1950–66.Brit J Prev Soc Med, 24:78–88, 1970.
Nagura S: Zur Aetiologie der angeborenen Huftverrenkung.Zentralbl Chir, 80: 1933–1943, 1955.
Slater BC, Watson GI, McDonald JC: Seasonal variation in congenital abnormalities: Preliminary report of a survey conducted by the Research Committee of Council of the College of General Practitioners.Brit J Prev Soc Med, 18:1–7, 1964.
Machon RA, Mednick SA, Schulsinger F: The interaction of seasonality, place of birth, genetic risk and subsequent schizophrenia in a high risk sample.Br J Psychiatry, 143:383–388, 1983.
Cowgill UM: Season of birth in man. Contemporary situation with special reference to Europe and the Southern Hemisphere.Ecology, 47:614–623, 1966.
McNeil T, Kai JL, Dzierzykray-Rogalska M: Season of birth among siblings of schizophrenics: A test of parental conception habits interpretation.Acta Psychiat Scand, 54:267–274, 1976.
de Sauvage-Nolting WJ: Considerations regarding a possible relation between the vitamin-C-content of the blood of pregnant women and schizophrenia, debilitas mentis and psychopathia.Folia Psychiatr Neurol Neurochir Neerl, 58:285–295, 1955.
Foldstein S, Rutter M: Infantile Autism. A genetic study of 21 twin pairs.J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 18:297–321, 1977.
Beisler JM, Tsai LY: A pragmatic approach to increase expressive language skills in young autistic children.J Autism Dev Disord, 13:287–303, 1983.
Rutter M: Brain damage syndromes in childhood: Concepts and findings.J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 18:1–21, 1977.
Knobloch H, Pasamanick B: Some etiologic and prognostic factors in early infantile autism and psychosis.Pediatrics, 55:182–191, 1975.
Deykin EA, MacMahon B: Pregnancy, delivery and neonatal complications among autistic children.Am J Disord in Children, 134:860–864, 1980.
Hauser SI, DeLong GR, Rosman NP: Pneumoencephalographic findings in the infantile autism syndrome: A correlation with temporal lobe disease.Brain, 98: 667–688, 1975.
Hier DB, LeMay M, Rosenberger PB: Austism and unfavorable right asymmetries of the brain.J Autism Dev Disord, 9:153–159, 1979.
Kanner L: Autistic disturbances of affective contact.Nerv Child, 2:217–250, 1943.
Fish B: Neurobiologic antecedents of schizophrenia in children.Arch Gen Psychiatry, 34:1297–1313, 1977.
DeMyer MK, Hingtgen JK, Jackson RK: Infantile autism reviewed: A decade of research.Schizophr Bull, 7:388–451, 1981.
Rutter M: Diagnosis and definition of childhood autism.J Autism Child Schizophr, 8:139–161, 1978.
Rumsey JM, Rapoport JH, Sceery WR: Autistic children as adults: Psychiatric social and behavioral outcomes.J Am Acad Child Psychiat, 24:465–473, 1985.
Coleman M, Gillberg C:The Biology of the Autistic Syndrome New York: Praeger, 1985.
Baird TD, August GJ: Familial heterogeneity in infantile autism.J Autism Dev Disord, 15:315–321, 1985.
Konstantareas MM, Homatidis S: Ear infections and auditory processing problems in autistic and normal children. Unpublished Manuscript, Clarke Institute of Psychiatry.
Prior M: Developing concepts of childhood autism: The influence of experimental cognitive research.J Consult Clin Psychol, 52:4–16, 1984.
Pulver AE, Stewart W, Carpenter WT, Child B: Risk factors in schizophrenia: Season of birth in Maryland, U.S.A.:Br J Psychiatry, 143:389–396, 1983.
Kolvin I, Ounsted C, Roth M: Studies in childhood psychoses. V. Cerebral dysfunction and childhood psychoses.Br J Psychiatry, 118:407–414, 1971.
Rutter M: Childhood schizophrenia reconsidered.J Autism Child Schizophr, 2: 315–337, 1972.
Chess S: Follow-up report on autism in congenital rebella.J Autism Child Schizophr, 7:69–81, 1977.
Campbell M, Hardesty AS, Burdocke I: Demographic and perinatal profile of 105 autistic children: A preliminary report.Psychopharmacol Bull, 14:36–39, 1978.
DeMyer MK: Research in infantile autism: A strategy and its results.Biol Psychiatry, 10:433–452, 1975.
Torrey EF, Hersh SP, McCabe KD: Early childhood psychosis and bleeding during pregnancy. A prospective study of gravid women and their offspring.J Autism Child Schizophr, 5:287–297, 1975.
Torrey EF:Schizophrenia and Civilization. New York: Jason Aranson Inc, 1980.
O'Moore M: A study of the etiology of autism from a study of birth and family characteristics.J Irish Med Assoc, 65:114–120, 1972.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This project was supported in part by the Ontario Mental Health Foundation Grant #988-84/86.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Konstantareas, M.M., Hauser, P., Lennox, C. et al. Season of birth in infantile autism. Child Psych Hum Dev 17, 53–65 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00707913
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00707913