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Transient gestational hypothyroxinemia in rodents induces cortical neuronal migration brain lesions resembling those of autism. We investigated the association between maternal hypothyroxinemia (gestational weeks 6–18) and autistic symptoms in children.

The mother‐and‐child cohort of the Generation R Study (Rotterdam, the Netherlands) began prenatal enrollment between 2002 and 2006. At a mean gestational age of 13.4 weeks (standard deviation = 1.9, range = 5.9–17.9), maternal thyroid function tests (serum thyrotropin [TSH], free thyroxine [fT₄], and thyroid peroxidase [TPO] antibodies) were assessed in 5,100 women. We defined severe maternal hypothyroxinemia as fT₄ < 5th percentile with normal TSH. Six years later, parents reported behavioral and emotional symptoms in 4,039 children (79%) using the Pervasive Developmental Problems (PDP) subscale of the Child Behavior …