Eine japanische Studie mit über 23.000 Mutter-Kind-Paaren zeigt, dass perinatale Depressionen bei Müttern – psychische Belastungen, die während der Schwangerschaft oder nach der Geburt auftreten – das Risiko autistischer Merkmale bei Kleinkindern erhöhen und sich besonders stark auf Mädchen auswirken.

A research team from the Department of Psychiatry at Tohoku University, led by Dr. Zhiqian Yu and Professor Hiroaki Tomita, has uncovered compelling evidence that **maternal perinatal depression – psychological distress occurring during pregnancy or postpartum – elevates the risk of autistic-related traits in toddlers, with a particularly strong impact on girls. Their findings are derived from a large-scale Japanese cohort of over 23,000 mother-child pairs** (the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Birth and Three-Generation Cohort Study) and supported by mouse experiments. These findings provide important insights into how maternal mental health influences early neurodevelopment, which could help create guidelines to protect the wellbeing of both mother and child.

For those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-026-03456-z