For the past several decades, abdominal/pelvic prenatal ultrasonography (P-USG) has been the most significant technology used in obstetrics. There has been a tremendous increase in use throughout the world and there have been many improvements in the technology used. However, there are aspects of the technology such as frequency, exposure time, thermal and cavitation exposure indices, and increased acoustic output of the ultrasonic waves that possibly could be harmful to the embryo/fetus. In particular, prolonged exposure may increase susceptibility to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Along with the increasing use of P-USG, there has been a similar increase in the incidence of ASD. The diagnosis of ASD has been found to be more common in geographic areas with a more affluent ethnicity, high socioeconomic status, and high parental education. These are also areas where prenatal ultrasonography is readily available and affordable. Given that there are biophysical risks from P-USG, especially in non-medical settings, P-USG may emerge as a possible risk factor for ASD. The past history of radiography provides a historical perspective: the predominant past opinion years ago was that exposure to X-rays during pregnancy caused no significant risk to a fetus. However, the association between X-ray exposure and childhood leukemia was only established 40 years after X-ray use began. This review focuses on the literature which supports the generation of the hypothesis that excessive P-USG usage may be a factor in the etiology of ASD.
| Published in | American Journal of Pediatrics (Volume 7, Issue 4) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajp.20210704.12 |
| Page(s) | 189-197 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Autism, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Children, Behavior, Ultrasonography, Prenatal, Pregnancy
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APA Style
Hissa Moammar, Larry Desch, Rabi Sulayman. (2021). A Scoping Review of Excessive Prenatal Ultrasonography as a Potential Risk Factor for Autism. American Journal of Pediatrics, 7(4), 189-197. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20210704.12
ACS Style
Hissa Moammar; Larry Desch; Rabi Sulayman. A Scoping Review of Excessive Prenatal Ultrasonography as a Potential Risk Factor for Autism. Am. J. Pediatr. 2021, 7(4), 189-197. doi: 10.11648/j.ajp.20210704.12
AMA Style
Hissa Moammar, Larry Desch, Rabi Sulayman. A Scoping Review of Excessive Prenatal Ultrasonography as a Potential Risk Factor for Autism. Am J Pediatr. 2021;7(4):189-197. doi: 10.11648/j.ajp.20210704.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ajp.20210704.12,
author = {Hissa Moammar and Larry Desch and Rabi Sulayman},
title = {A Scoping Review of Excessive Prenatal Ultrasonography as a Potential Risk Factor for Autism},
journal = {American Journal of Pediatrics},
volume = {7},
number = {4},
pages = {189-197},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajp.20210704.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20210704.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajp.20210704.12},
abstract = {For the past several decades, abdominal/pelvic prenatal ultrasonography (P-USG) has been the most significant technology used in obstetrics. There has been a tremendous increase in use throughout the world and there have been many improvements in the technology used. However, there are aspects of the technology such as frequency, exposure time, thermal and cavitation exposure indices, and increased acoustic output of the ultrasonic waves that possibly could be harmful to the embryo/fetus. In particular, prolonged exposure may increase susceptibility to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Along with the increasing use of P-USG, there has been a similar increase in the incidence of ASD. The diagnosis of ASD has been found to be more common in geographic areas with a more affluent ethnicity, high socioeconomic status, and high parental education. These are also areas where prenatal ultrasonography is readily available and affordable. Given that there are biophysical risks from P-USG, especially in non-medical settings, P-USG may emerge as a possible risk factor for ASD. The past history of radiography provides a historical perspective: the predominant past opinion years ago was that exposure to X-rays during pregnancy caused no significant risk to a fetus. However, the association between X-ray exposure and childhood leukemia was only established 40 years after X-ray use began. This review focuses on the literature which supports the generation of the hypothesis that excessive P-USG usage may be a factor in the etiology of ASD.},
year = {2021}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - A Scoping Review of Excessive Prenatal Ultrasonography as a Potential Risk Factor for Autism AU - Hissa Moammar AU - Larry Desch AU - Rabi Sulayman Y1 - 2021/10/28 PY - 2021 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20210704.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ajp.20210704.12 T2 - American Journal of Pediatrics JF - American Journal of Pediatrics JO - American Journal of Pediatrics SP - 189 EP - 197 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2472-0909 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20210704.12 AB - For the past several decades, abdominal/pelvic prenatal ultrasonography (P-USG) has been the most significant technology used in obstetrics. There has been a tremendous increase in use throughout the world and there have been many improvements in the technology used. However, there are aspects of the technology such as frequency, exposure time, thermal and cavitation exposure indices, and increased acoustic output of the ultrasonic waves that possibly could be harmful to the embryo/fetus. In particular, prolonged exposure may increase susceptibility to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Along with the increasing use of P-USG, there has been a similar increase in the incidence of ASD. The diagnosis of ASD has been found to be more common in geographic areas with a more affluent ethnicity, high socioeconomic status, and high parental education. These are also areas where prenatal ultrasonography is readily available and affordable. Given that there are biophysical risks from P-USG, especially in non-medical settings, P-USG may emerge as a possible risk factor for ASD. The past history of radiography provides a historical perspective: the predominant past opinion years ago was that exposure to X-rays during pregnancy caused no significant risk to a fetus. However, the association between X-ray exposure and childhood leukemia was only established 40 years after X-ray use began. This review focuses on the literature which supports the generation of the hypothesis that excessive P-USG usage may be a factor in the etiology of ASD. VL - 7 IS - 4 ER -
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