Ragna Bugge Askeland

Introduction Social communication difficulties and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior or interests (RRBI) are the core diagnostic criteria for an autism spectrum diagnosis (hereafter autism) but are also multidimensional areas of development and behavior with relevance across the wider population. One group in which higher rates of these traits are typically seen is in non-autistic family members of those with a diagnosis (Frazier et al., 2015; Piven et al., 1997).

Participants and measures MoBa is a longitudinal prospective pregnancy cohort including approximately 114,500 children, their mothers, and fathers [25, 26]. Between 1999 and 2008 pregnant women were recruited to the study and gave written informed consent to participation in 41% of the pregnancies. Blood samples were collected from the children’s umbilical cord at birth [27].

Abstract Background Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (autism) and schizophrenia are highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorders, affecting the lives of many individuals. It is important to increase our understanding of how the polygenic risk for neurodevelopmental disorders manifests during childhood in boys and girls.