Rheumatoid arthritis in moms aggravates mental disorders in kids

Children born to mothers with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at higher risk of major mental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a recent Taiwan study has found. No such effect exists for paternal RA.

Drawing from the National Health Insurance Research Database (2001–2010), the researchers assessed 23,981 dyads consisting of a child and a parent with RA. Outcomes included mental disorders such as ASD, ADHD, major depressive disorder, and bipolar disorder, the risks of which were compared against 239,810 matched dyads of non-RA parents and their children.

While both parent-child cohorts showed comparable levels of urbanization and income, preliminary analysis revealed higher rates of ASD (p<0.03), ADHD (p<0.001), bipolar disorder (p<0.001), and major depressive disorder (p=0.001) in the RA cohort.

Logistic regression analysis, adjusted for demographic characteristics and other confounders, showed that parental RA was associated with a higher likelihood of childhood ASD (odds ratio [OR], 1.47, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.05–2.07), ADHD (OR, 1.34, 95 percent CI, 1.17–1.54), bipolar disorder (OR, 1.41, 95 percent CI, 1.17–1.70), and major depressive disorder (OR, 1.20, 95 percent CI, 1.07–1.35).

Further analysis found that only offspring of mothers with RA saw a significantly greater odds of ASD (OR, 1.49, 95 percent CI, 1.01–2.20), bipolar disorder (OR, 1.47, 95 percent CI, 1.20–1.81), ADHD (OR, 1.37, 95 percent CI, 1.17–1.60), and major depressive disorder (OR, 1.20, 95 percent CI, 1.05–1.37). RA in fathers did not affect mental disorder risk in children.