TY - JOUR AU - Al-Mamari, Watfa AU - Idris, Ahmed B AU - Al-Zadjali, Aala' A AU - Jalees, Saquib AU - Murthi, Sathiya AU - Al-Jabri, Muna AU - Gabr, Ahlam AU - Fombonne, Eric PY - 2021/08/29 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Parental Age and the Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Oman: A case-control study JF - Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal JA - Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J VL - 21 IS - 3 SE - Original Studies DO - 10.18295/squmj.4.2021.024 UR - https://journals.squ.edu.om/index.php/squmj/article/view/4199 SP - 465-471 AB - <p><strong><em>Objective:</em></strong> This study aimed at evaluating advanced parental age as a risk factor for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in an Omani cohort. <strong><em>Methods:</em></strong> Case-control study of 278 ASD cases compared with 722 sex-matched controls retrieved from the electronic records of the Developmental Paediatric Clinic, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) between January 2015 and June 2016. <strong><em>Results:</em></strong> ASD cases (76.6% male) were mostly diagnosed between 3-4 years of age, with more than 50% of them originating from Muscat and Batinah governorates. Compared to controls, mothers from the case group had significantly higher educational level (post-secondary education versus high school/no formal education (odds-ratio (OR)=1.62; 95% C.I. 1.20-2.19). In a multivariate logistic regression, the odds ratio of maternal age as a risk for ASD increased dramatically with advancing age category (using age&lt;25 as a reference, OR was 3.39, 6.12, 7.86 and 13.13 for age categories 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, and ≥40 years, respectively). The ORs of advancing paternal age as a risk for ASD were also statistically significant (using age&lt;30 as referent, OR was 2.20, 2.36, and 3.12 for age categories 30-34, 35-39 and 40-44 years); however, there was a drop in the effect with paternal age ≥ 45 years (OR=1.42; 95% C.I .64-3.15). <strong><em>Conclusion:</em></strong> Both maternal and paternal increased age were associated with a higher risk of ASD; however, the association was more pronounced and more consistent with advanced maternal age compared to paternal age.</p><p><strong><em>Keywords</em>:</strong> Autism; parental age; case-control study</p> ER -