Journal article

Investigating associations between birth order and autism diagnostic phenotypes

GA Alvares, MK Licari, PG Stevenson, K Bebbington, MN Cooper, EJ Glasson, DW Tan, M Uljarević, KJ Varcin, J Wray, AJO Whitehouse

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines | WILEY | Published : 2021

Abstract

Background: Birth order effects have been linked to variability in intelligence, educational attainment and sexual orientation. First- and later-born children have been linked to an increased likelihood of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis, with a smaller body of evidence implicating decreases in cognitive functioning with increased birth order. The present study investigated the potential association between birth order and ASD diagnostic phenotypes in a large and representative population sample. Methods: Data were obtained from an ongoing prospective diagnostic registry, collected between 1999 and 2017, including children (1–18 years of age, n = 5,404) diagnosed with ASD in the ..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council


Funding Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the Advisory Committee of the Western Australian Register for Autism Spectrum Disorders, as well as the diagnosticians and families who contributed data to the register. G.A.A. was supported by the Western Australian Health Translation Network Early Career Fellowship and the Australian Government's Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) as part of the Rapid Applied Research Translation Program. A.J.O.W. is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (APP1077966; APP1173896). M.U. is currently supported by the Australian Research Council (DE180100632). The authors have declared that they have no competing or potential conflicts of interest.