Distribution of Month of Birth of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder Differs from the General Population in the Netherlands

The prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) is causally dependent on genetic and environmental influences. We investigated whether autism spectrum disorders are associated with month of birth compared to the general population using a retrospective study, comparing ASD cases (n = 3478) with the general population (n = 2,716,876) born between 1995 and 2008. Associations were examined using χ2 tests and Walter and Elwood’s seasonality χ2 tests for the total ASD group, and separately for autistic disorder and Asperger syndrome. For the total ASD group, the distribution of month of birth wa... Mehr ...