nitrogen-dioxide and Autism-Spectrum-Disorder

Many studies have found associations between early life air pollution exposure and subsequent onset of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, characteristics that affect susceptibility remain unclear.. This systematic review examined epidemiologic studies on the modifying roles of social, child, genetic and maternal characteristics in associations between prenatal and early postnatal air pollution exposure and ASD.. A systematic literature search in PubMed and Embase was conducted. Studies that examined modifiers of the association between air pollution and ASD were included.. A total of 19 publications examined modifiers of the associations between early life air pollution exposures and ASD. In general, estimates of effects on risk of ASD in boys were larger than in girls (based on 11 studies). Results from studies of effects of family education (2 studies) and neighborhood deprivation (2 studies) on air pollution-ASD associations were inconsistent. Limited data (1 study) suggest pregnant women with insufficient folic acid intake might be more susceptible to ambient particulate matter less than 2.5 μm (PM. Child's sex, maternal nutrition or diabetes, socioeconomic factors, and child risk genotypes were reported to modify the effect of early-life air pollutants on ASD risk in the epidemiologic literature. However, the sparsity of studies on comparable modifying hypotheses precludes conclusive findings. Further research is needed to identify susceptible populations and potential targets for preventive intervention.

Topics: Air Pollutants; Air Pollution; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Autistic Disorder; Child; DNA Copy Number Variations; Environmental Exposure; Female; Humans; Male; Nitrogen Dioxide; Particulate Matter

Traffic-related air pollution exposure is associated with increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is unknown whether carbonaceous material from vehicular tailpipe emissions or redox-active non-tailpipe metals, eg. from tire and brake wear, are responsible. We assessed ASD associations with fine particulate matter (PM. This retrospective cohort study included 318,750 children born in Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC) hospitals during 2001-2014, followed until age 5. ASD cases were identified by ICD codes. Monthly estimates of PM. There were 4559 children diagnosed with ASD. In single-pollutant models, increased ASD risk was associated with gestational exposures to tracers of both tailpipe and non-tailpipe emissions. The ASD hazard ratios (HRs) per inter-quartile increment of exposure) for EC, OC, Cu, Fe, and Mn were 1.11 (95% CI: 1.06-1.16), 1.09 (95% CI: 1.04-1.15), 1.09 (95% CI: 1.04-1.13), 1.14 (95% CI: 1.09-1.20), and 1.17 (95% CI: 1.12-1.22), respectively. Estimated effects of Cu, Fe, and Mn (reflecting non-tailpipe sources) were largely unchanged in two-pollutant models adjusting for PM. Results suggest that non-tailpipe emissions may contribute to ASD. Implications are that reducing tailpipe emissions, especially from vehicles with internal combustion engines, may not eliminate ASD associations with traffic-related air pollution.

Topics: Air Pollutants; Air Pollution; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Carbon; Child, Preschool; Environmental Exposure; Environmental Pollutants; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Manganese; Nitrogen Dioxide; Particulate Matter; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Retrospective Studies; Vehicle Emissions

Exposure to ambient noise and air pollution may affect the manifestation and severity of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, evidence is limited, and most studies solely assessed environmental exposures during pregnancy and early childhood.. To examine the longitudinal effects of ambient noise and air pollutants on ASD and ADHD symptom severity during adolescence and early adulthood.. Using a longitudinal design, we included 2750 children between 10 and 12 years old from the TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS) in the Netherlands, who were assessed in 6 waves from 2001 to 2017. ASD was measured by the Children's Social Behavior Questionnaire and the Adult Social Behavior Questionnaire. ADHD was measured by Child Behavior Checklist and the Adult Behavior Checklist. Ambient noise and air pollution exposures, including Ozone (O. We found evidence that higher levels of exposure to PM were associated with more severe ASD and ADHD symptoms. This association decreased over time. We did not observe any other consistent associations of noise or other air pollutants with ASD and ADHD severity.. The current study provides evidence for the negative impact of PM on ASD and ADHD symptoms. We did not find evidence of the negative health impact of other air pollutants and noise exposures on ASD or ADHD symptoms. Our study adds more evidence on the presence of associations between PM air pollution and neurodevelopmental diseases among adolescents and young adults.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Air Pollutants; Air Pollution; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Child; Child, Preschool; Environmental Exposure; Female; Humans; Nitrogen Dioxide; Particulate Matter; Pregnancy; Young Adult

Early-life exposure to air pollutants, including ozone (O

Topics: Air Pollutants; Air Pollution; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Child; Environmental Exposure; Female; Humans; Nitrogen Dioxide; Particulate Matter; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of high levels of maternal exposure to ambient air pollution and heavy metals on risks of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and epilepsy using the National Health Insurance claims data of South Korea. The data of mothers and their newborns from 2016 to 2018 provided by the National Health Insurance Service were used (

Topics: Air Pollutants; Air Pollution; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Cadmium; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Lead; Maternal Exposure; Nervous System Diseases; Nitrogen Dioxide; Particulate Matter; Pregnancy

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) incidence has increased in past decades. ASD etiology remains inconclusive, but research suggests genetic, epigenetic, and environmental contributing factors and likely prenatal origins. Few studies have examined modifiable environmental risk factors for ASD, and far fewer have examined protective exposures. Greenspace has been associated with positive child development, but very limited greenspace research has examined ASD risk or prenatal exposures. Only one ecological study in 2017 has evaluated the association between greenspace and ASD, observing protective benefits. Greenspace may have direct effects on ASD risk and indirect effects by reducing air pollution exposure, a growing suspected ASD risk factor.. To measure the association between prenatal greenspace exposure and ASD risk and examine if reduced air pollution levels in areas of higher greenspace mediate this association.. We linked a population-based birth cohort of all deliveries in Metro Vancouver, Canada, from 2004 to 2009, with follow-up to 2014. Diagnoses were based on Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule and Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised instruments. Greenspace was quantified as the average of the annual mean Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) within a 250 m buffer of a residential postal code. Air pollutant exposures-particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 µm (PM. Of 129,222 births, 1,921 (1.5 %) children were diagnosed with ASD. The adjusted OR for ASD per NDVI IQR (0.12) increase was 0.96 (95 % CI: 0.90, 1.02) in 250 m buffer zones and 0.94 (95 % CI: 0.89, 1.00) in 100 m buffer zones. On the additive scale, the adjusted RDs were null. Natural direct, natural indirect, and total effect RDs were null for PM. Prenatal greenspace exposure was associated with reduced odds of ASD, but in the additive scale, this effect was null at the population level. No mediating effect was observed through reduced air pollution, suggesting that air pollution may act as a confounder rather than as a mediator.

Topics: Air Pollutants; Air Pollution; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Birth Cohort; Child; Cohort Studies; Environmental Exposure; Female; Humans; Nitric Oxide; Nitrogen Dioxide; Parks, Recreational; Particulate Matter; Pregnancy

Air pollution has been reported to be an environmental risk factor for autism spectrum disorder. However, the gut microbiome's role as a potential mediator has not been investigated. We aimed to clarify whether particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 μm (PM

Topics: Air Pollutants; Air Pollution; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Autistic Disorder; Child; Environmental Exposure; Female; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Humans; Nitrogen Dioxide; Particulate Matter; Pregnancy

Air pollutants have been linked to some diseases in humans, but their effects on the nervous system were less frequently evaluated. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of neurondevelopmental disorders of which the etiology is still unknown. We conducted a study in Taiwan to evaluate the possible associations between prenatal exposure to air pollutants and ASD. From a random sample of one million people in the National Insurance Research Database, we identified all the infants born between 1996 and 2000. We followed them till the end of 2013 and identified cases of ASD. We traced back the mothers' residence and assessed the exposure to air pollutants using the data obtained from the air quality monitoring database maintained by the government, which included ozone (O

Topics: Air Pollutants; Air Pollution; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Nitrogen Dioxide; Ozone; Particulate Matter; Pregnancy; Sulfur Dioxide; Taiwan

Studies of the effects of prenatal environmental exposures on postnatal outcomes are particularly vulnerable to live birth bias; i.e., the bias that arises from the necessary restriction of the analysis to live births when that is influenced by both the exposure under study. In the context of a recent publication of nitrogen dioxide (. We simulated the magnitude of bias under two selection mechanisms and when both mechanisms co-occur, assuming a true null effect. Simulation input parameters were based on characteristics of the original study and a range of plausible values for the prevalence of unmeasured factor. We found that the magnitude of bias was small when

Topics: Air Pollutants; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Bias; Environmental Exposure; Female; Humans; Live Birth; Nitrogen Dioxide; Pregnancy

Ambient air pollution and maternal diabetes may affect common biological pathways underlying adverse neurodevelopmental effects. However, joint effects of maternal diabetes and air pollution on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have not been studied.. We evaluated whether prenatal and early-life air pollution exposure interacts with maternal diabetes status to affect ASD risk.. This retrospective cohort study included 246,420 singleton children born in Kaiser Permanente Southern California hospitals in 1999-2009. Children were followed from birth until age 5, during which 2471 ASD cases were diagnosed. Ozone (O. There were associations of ASD with preconception, first and third trimesters, and first year of life PM. GDM onset early in pregnancy may increase children's susceptibility to prenatal O

Topics: Adult; Air Pollutants; Autism Spectrum Disorder; California; Child, Preschool; Cohort Studies; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Diabetes, Gestational; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Maternal Exposure; Nitrogen Dioxide; Ozone; Particulate Matter; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Trimesters; Proportional Hazards Models; Retrospective Studies

The etiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is poorly understood, but prior studies suggest associations with airborne pollutants.. To evaluate the association between prenatal exposures to airborne pollutants and ASD in a large population-based cohort.. This population-based cohort encompassed nearly all births in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, from 2004 through 2009, with follow-up through 2014. Children were diagnosed with ASD using a standardized assessment with the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. Monthly mean exposures to particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5), nitric oxide (NO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at the maternal residence during pregnancy were estimated with temporally adjusted, high-resolution land use regression models. The association between prenatal air pollution exposures and the odds of developing ASD was evaluated using logistic regression adjusted for child sex, birth month, birth year, maternal age, maternal birthplace, and neighborhood-level urbanicity and income band. Data analysis occurred from June 2016 to May 2018.. Mean monthly concentrations of ambient PM2.5, NO, and NO2 at the maternal residence during pregnancy, calculated retrospectively using temporally adjusted, high-resolution land use regression models.. Autism spectrum disorder diagnoses based on standardized assessment of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. The hypothesis being tested was formulated during data collection.. In a cohort of 132 256 births, 1307 children (1.0%) were diagnosed with ASD by the age of 5 years. The final sample size for the PM2.5-adjusted model was 129 439 children, and for NO and NO2, it was 129 436 children; of these, 1276 (1.0%) were diagnosed with ASD. Adjusted odds ratios for ASD per interquartile range (IQR) were not significant for exposure to PM2.5 during pregnancy (1.04 [95% CI, 0.98-1.10] per 1.5 μg/m3 increase [IQR] in PM2.5) or NO2 (1.06 [95% CI, 0.99-1.12] per 4.8 ppb [IQR] increase in NO2) but the odds ratio was significant for NO (1.07 [95% CI, 1.01-1.13] per 10.7 ppb [IQR] increase in NO). Odds ratios for male children were 1.04 (95% CI, 0.98-1.10) for PM2.5; 1.09 (95% CI, 1.02-1.15) for NO; and 1.07 (95% CI, 1.00-1.13) for NO2. For female children, they were for 1.03 (95% CI, 0.90-1.18) for PM2.5; 0.98 (95% CI, 0.83-1.13) for NO; and 1.00 (95% CI, 0.86-1.16) for NO2.. In a population-based birth cohort, we detected an association between exposure to NO and ASD but no significant association with PM2.5 and NO2.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Air Pollutants; Air Pollution; Autism Spectrum Disorder; British Columbia; Child; Child, Preschool; Environmental Exposure; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Logistic Models; Male; Middle Aged; Nitric Oxide; Nitrogen Dioxide; Odds Ratio; Particulate Matter; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Young Adult

Accumulating evidence suggests that perinatal air pollutant exposures are associated with increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but evidence for traffic pollutants outside the United States is inconclusive. We assessed the association between nitrogen dioxide, a traffic pollution tracer, and risk of ASD. We conducted a nested case-control study among the entire population of children born during 2005-2009 in the central coastal area of Israel. Cases were identified through the National Insurance Institute of Israel (n = 2,098). Controls were a 20% random sample of the remaining children (n = 54,191). Exposure was based on an optimized dispersion model. We estimated adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals using logistic regression and a distributed-lag model. In models mutually adjusted for the 2 periods, the odds ratio per 5.85-parts per billion (ppb) increment of nitrogen dioxide exposure during pregnancy (median, 16.8 ppb; range, 7.5-31.2 ppb) was 0.77 (95% confidence interval: 0.59, 1.00), and the odds ratio for exposure during the 9 months after birth was 1.40 (95% confidence interval: 1.09, 1.80). A distributed-lag model revealed reduced risk around week 13 of pregnancy and elevated risk around week 26 after birth. These findings suggest that postnatal exposure to nitrogen dioxide in Israel is associated with increased odds of ASD, and prenatal exposure with lower odds. The latter may relate to selection effects.

Topics: Autism Spectrum Disorder; Case-Control Studies; Environmental Exposure; Female; Gestational Age; Humans; Israel; Logistic Models; Male; Nitrogen Dioxide; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Risk Factors; Socioeconomic Factors; Traffic-Related Pollution

A recent analysis found that exposure to air pollution during specific weeks of pregnancy was negatively associated with risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) when mutually adjusted for postnatal air-pollution exposure. In this commentary, we describe 2 possible selection-bias processes that might lead to such results, both related to live-birth bias (i.e., the inevitable restriction of the analyzed sample to live births). The first mechanism is described using a directed acyclic graph and relates to the chance of live birth being a common consequence of both exposure to air pollution and another risk factor of ASD. The second mechanism involves preferential depletion of fetuses susceptible to ASD in the higher air-pollution exposure group. We further discuss the assumptions underlying these processes and their causal structures, their plausibility, and other studies where similar phenomena might have occurred.

Topics: Autism Spectrum Disorder; Bias; Epidemiologic Methods; Female; Humans; Live Birth; Maternal Exposure; Nitrogen Dioxide; Ozone; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Outcome; Pregnancy Trimesters; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Reproducibility of Results; Risk Factors; Seasons; Traffic-Related Pollution