Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a behaviorally defined group of
neurodevelopmental disorders that are usually diagnosed in early childhood. With
early and intensive treatment such as behavior and communication therapies with a
team of specialists. Most children improve their ability to relate to others,
communicate and help themselves as they grow older. In this study, we investigated
some correlates with autism because we believe that the identification of causal
genetic and environmental risk factors may help in the primary prevention of some
cases. We investigated the association of autism with some risk factors in 82 autistic
children from the Libyan Center for Special Needs, located in Salah Al-Din district in
Tripoli, Libya. Diagnosis of autism of each patient was assigned by trained
psychiatrists and documented in the patients file based on Diagnostic Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders criteria (DMS-IV-TR). The investigated risk factors were
patients age, gender, maternal age at the birth of child and positive family history.
We observed that male predominate (74%) among autistic children, however, there
was no observed difference in the outcome of therapy between males and females.
About 70% of patients have negative family history with autism and 38% of them
were children of relative parents. Positive family history, however, lowers the
outcome of therapy. Most of cases (70%) are born at mothers age older than 30 years.
We also investigated whether maternal antidepressant use during-pregnancy is
associated with autism. It is found that 38% of mothers have used these drugs during
pregnancy.

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