Mean serum-level of common organic pollutants is predictive of behavioral severity in children with autism spectrum disorders
DOI
10.1038/srep26185
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
5-13-2016
Publication Title
Scientific Reports
Volume
6
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and their pathogenesis, are growing public health concerns. This study evaluated common organic pollutant serum-concentrations in children, as it related to behavioral severity determined by rating scales and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS). Thirty children, ages 2-9, with ASD and thirty controls matched by age, sex, and socioeconomic status were evaluated using direct blood serum sampling and ADOS. Pooling concentrations of all studied pollutants into a single variable yielded cohort-specific neurobehavioral relationships. Pooled serum-concentration correlated significantly with increasing behavioral severity on the ADOS in the ASD cohort (p = 0.011, r = 0.54), but not controls (p = 0.60, r = 0.11). Logistic regression significantly correlated mean pollutant serum-concentration with the probability of diagnosis of behaviorally severe autism, defined as ADOS >14, across all participants (odds ratio = 3.43 [95% confidence: 1.14-10.4], p = 0.0287). No specific analyte correlated with ADOS in either cohort. The ASD cohort displayed greater quantitative variance of analyte concentrations than controls (p = 0.006), suggesting a wide range of detoxification functioning in the ASD cohort. This study supports the hypothesis that environmental exposure to organic pollutants may play a significant role in the behavioral presentation of autism.
Open Access
Gold
Repository Citation
Boggess, A., Faber, S., Kern, J., & Kingston, H. (2016). Mean serum-level of common organic pollutants is predictive of behavioral severity in children with autism spectrum disorders. Scientific Reports, 6. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep26185