The association between neonatal jaundice and autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study

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dc.contributor.authorLee, Andrea
dc.contributor.authorHiggins, Sorcha
dc.contributor.authorO’Driscoll, David
dc.contributor.authorMitchell, Jill M.
dc.contributor.authorWalsh, Brian H.
dc.contributor.authorO’Keeffe, Gerard W.
dc.contributor.authorKhashan, Ali S.
dc.contributor.authorMaher, Gillian M.
dc.date.accessioned2026-05-25T14:50:07Z
dc.date.available2026-05-25T14:50:07Z
dc.date.issued2026-04-17
dc.description.abstractObjective: To examine the association between neonatal jaundice requiring hospital treatment and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring by age 14 years. Methods: We used data from the Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative longitudinal study of children born in the UK. Data on neonatal jaundice requiring hospital treatment and potential confounders were maternal-reported and collected at 9-months postpartum. Data on ASD and ADHD were based on maternal reported doctor diagnosis. A diagnosis of ASD or ADHD were assumed if parents reported ASD or ADHD diagnosis at age 5, 7, 11 or 14 years. We conducted crude and adjusted logistic regression analyses to examine the association between neonatal jaundice and ASD and ADHD, adjusting for a range of socioeconomic, maternal and lifestyle factors. Results: 18,294 singleton babies were included at baseline. Of these, 1,254 (6.9%) experienced neonatal jaundice that required hospital treatment, and there were 575 (3.7%) cases of ASD and 497 (3.2%) cases of ADHD by age 14 years. Findings were consistent across all crude and adjusted models, with the fully adjusted odds ratio for the association between neonatal jaundice and ASD being 1.43 [95% CI:1.09 to 1.89] and 1.26 [95% CI:0.92, 1.74] for ADHD. Conclusion: Neonatal jaundice was associated with an increased odds of developing ASD by age 14 years. While the link between neonatal jaundice and ADHD did not reach statistical significance, the possibility of an association cannot be ruled out. Future studies should investigate the biological mechanisms that may mediate this relationship. © The Author(s) 2026.en
dc.description.versionPublished Version
dc.format.extent9
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.authororcidLee, Andrea
dc.identifier.authororcidHiggins, Sorcha
dc.identifier.authororcidO’Driscoll, David
dc.identifier.authororcidMitchell, Jill M.
dc.identifier.authororcidWalsh, Brian H.§0000-0003-4665-6884
dc.identifier.authororcidO’Keeffe, Gerard W.§0000-0001-5149-0933
dc.identifier.authororcidKhashan, Ali S.
dc.identifier.authororcidMaher, Gillian M.§0000-0002-6722-0484
dc.identifier.citationLee, A, Higgins, S, O’Driscoll, D, Mitchell, J M, Walsh, B H, O’Keeffe, G W, Khashan, A S & Maher, G M 2026, 'The association between neonatal jaundice and autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study', Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, pp. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-026-07317-0
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s10803-026-07317-0
dc.identifier.endpage9
dc.identifier.issn0162-3257
dc.identifier.journaltitleJournal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
dc.identifier.otherRIS: urn:0B74283C4915CF3C2B63D8DAA9091D21
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0003-4665-6884/work/215731595
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0002-6722-0484/work/215731618
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0001-5149-0933/work/215732584
dc.identifier.startpage1
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/18865
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherSpringer
dc.relation.urihttps://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105035880670
dc.relation.urihttps://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105035880670?origin=resultslist
dc.rights© 2026, the Author(s).
dc.rights.accessrightsopen access
dc.rights.licensenameAttribution 4.0 International
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.statusPeer reviewed
dc.subjectAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
dc.subjectAutism spectrum disorder
dc.subjectMillennium Cohort Study
dc.subjectNeonatal jaundice
dc.subject[INFANT]
dc.subject[Medicine]
dc.subject[PublicHealth]
dc.titleThe association between neonatal jaundice and autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Findings from the Millennium Cohort Studyen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)
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