The risk for autism may be higher in children whose mothers had the flu or had a fever for more than a week during pregnancy.
A new study looked at nearly 97,000 children born in Denmark between 1997 and 2003. Kids whose mothers had the flu or week-long fever while pregnant had at least twice the risk of being diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder before age 3.
There was no association between autism risk and common infections, like a cold or urinary tract infection.
Doctors caution the findings could be due to chance, and say more research is needed.
