Background. Etiologic hypotheses in infantile autism suggest a strong genetic component,
as well as possible environmental risks linked to early fetal development. We evaluated the
association of maternal, pregnancy, delivery, and infant characteristics and risk of infantile
autism. Methods. We conducted a case-control study nested within a population-based
cohort (all Swedish children born in 1974–1993). We used prospectively recorded data from
the Swedish Birth Register, which were individually linked to the Swedish Inpatient Register …