Meta-Analysis of Prenatal Maternal Distress and Offspring Autism Spectrum Disorder Risk

A meta-analysis synthesizing results from 22 observational studies on the association between prenatal maternal psychological distress and autism spectrum disorders in offspring. The analysis, registered with PROSPERO, found a pooled odds ratio of 1.72, indicating a 72% higher likelihood of ASD diagnosis. The dataset, authored by Dan Lin and last updated in April 2026, is a 51.3 KB document summarizing the study's methods, results, and conclusions.

Use Cases

• Assessing the pooled effect size of prenatal distress on ASD risk based on the reported odds ratio and confidence intervals.
• Examining heterogeneity in study outcomes based on the reported I² statistic of 87.90% and described sources of variation.
• Comparing the association across different subtypes of psychological distress (stress, depression, anxiety) as suggested by the analysis.
• Informing the design of future observational studies based on the methodological synthesis of 22 included studies.

Strengths

• Includes results from a systematic review of 484 full-text records, providing a structured evidence base.
• Reports a specific pooled odds ratio (OR = 1.72) with a 95% confidence interval (1.50–1.97).
• Quantifies between-study heterogeneity with an I² statistic of 87.90%.
• Has a clear provenance with a PROSPERO systematic review registration (CRD420251119825).

Limitations

• The dataset is a 51.3 KB summary document; the underlying individual study data is not provided.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Substantial heterogeneity (I²=87.90%) suggests significant variability in the included studies' designs and measurements.

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies from six electronic databases.

Time Range

Studies were searched up to June 2025.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-20 05:22:57; freshness should be verified.

Geography

No geographic restrictions were applied to the included studies.