Mothers of children with autism are far less likely to take iron supplements before and during pregnancy than are mothers whose children develop normally, according to a new study. The study was conducted by researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute.

Low iron intake was linked to a five-fold greater risk of autism in children whose mother was 35 or older at the time of the child’s birth or if she had metabolic conditions such as diabetes or obesity hypertension.

This is the first research to consider the link between maternal iron intake and having a child with autism spectrum disorder, according to the authors of the study. The study, titled “Maternal intake of supplemental iron and risk for autism spectrum disorders,” is published in the September 22, 2014 online issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Rebecca J. Schmidt, assistant professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences and a researcher affiliated with the MIND Institute, said in a statement, “The association between lower maternal iron intake and increased ASD risk was strongest during breastfeeding, after adjustment for folic acid intake.”

Schmidt continued, “Further, the risk associated with low maternal iron intake was much greater when the mother was also older and had metabolic conditions during her pregnancy.”

Researchers examined maternal iron intake among the study participant, such as vitamins, breakfast cereals and various nutritional supplements in the three months before the end of the women’s pregnancies and breastfeeding.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one in 68 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder.