scholarly journals Autism Spectrum Disorder and Prenatal or Early Life Exposure to Pesticides: A Short Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (20) ◽  
pp. 10991
Author(s):  
Alessandro Miani ◽  
Giovanni Imbriani ◽  
Giovanni De Filippis ◽  
Donato De Giorgi ◽  
Luigi Peccarisi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Pesticide Exposure ◽  
Environmental Pollutants ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Case Control Studies ◽  
Early Life Exposure ◽  
Potential Association

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses have rapidly increased globally. Both environmental and genetic factors appear to contribute to the development of ASD. Several studies have shown a potential association between prenatal or postnatal pesticide exposure and the risk of developing ASD. Methods: We reviewed the available literature concerning the relationship between early life exposure to pesticides used in agriculture, such as organochlorines, organophosphates and pyrethroids, and ASD onset in childhood. We searched on Medline and Scopus for cohort or case–control studies published in English from 1977 to 2020. Results: A total of seven articles were selected for the review. We found a remarkable association between the maternal exposure to pyrethroid, as well as the exposure to organophosphate during pregnancy or in the first years of childhood, and the risk of ASD onset. This association was found to be less evident with organochlorine pesticides. Pregnancy seems to be the time when pesticide exposure appears to have the greatest impact on the onset of ASD in children. Conclusions: Among the different environmental pollutants, pesticides should be considered as emerging risk factors for ASD. The potential association identified between the exposure to pesticides and ASD needs to be implemented and confirmed by further epidemiological studies based on individual assessment both in outdoor and indoor conditions, including multiple confounding factors, and using statistical models that take into account single and multiple pesticide residues.

scholarly journals Early-Life Exposure to Environmental Air Pollution and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Review of Available Evidence

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1204
Author(s):  
Giovanni Imbriani ◽  
Alessandra Panico ◽  
Tiziana Grassi ◽  
Adele Idolo ◽  
Francesca Serio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Strong Association ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Case Control Studies ◽  
Early Life Exposure ◽  
Toxicological Studies

The number of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has rapidly increased globally. Genetic and environmental factors both contribute to the development of ASD. Several studies showed linkage between prenatal, early postnatal air pollution exposure and the risk of developing ASD. We reviewed the available literature concerning the relationship between early-life exposure to air pollutants and ASD onset in childhood. We searched on Medline and Scopus for cohort or case-control studies published in English from 1977 to 2020. A total of 20 articles were selected for the review. We found a strong association between maternal exposure to particulate matter (PM) during pregnancy or in the first years of the children’s life and the risk of the ASD. This association was found to be stronger with PM2.5 and less evident with the other pollutants. Current evidence suggest that pregnancy is the period in which exposure to environmental pollutants seems to be most impactful concerning the onset of ASD in children. Air pollution should be considered among the emerging risk factors for ASD. Further epidemiological and toxicological studies should address molecular pathways involved in the development of ASD and determine specific cause–effect associations.

scholarly journals Adapting the ELEAT (Early Life Exposure Assessment Tool) to Portugal – a pilot study to tackle gene-environment interactions in Autism Spectrum Disorder

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celia Rasga ◽  
João Xavier Santos ◽  
Ana Leonie Lopes ◽  
Ana Rita Marques ◽  
Joana Vilela ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Exposure Assessment ◽  
Environmental Exposure ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Early Life Exposure

ABSTRACTBackgroundAutism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a pervasive and clinically heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and interaction skills, and repetitive and stereotyped behaviours. It is known that ASD has a strong genetics component, but heritability estimates of 50-80% suggest that modifiable non-genetic factors may play an important role in the onset of the disorder. Recently, pre-, peri and post-natal exposure to a variety of environmental factors has been implicated in ASD. Yet, the comprehensive assessment of environmental exposures in this pathology, using large population datasets, is still lacking. The objective of this study was to pilot an environmental exposure assessment tool in Portugal.MethodsTo examine environmental exposures in a population of Portuguese children with ASD, we translated, adapted and piloted the Early Life Exposure Assessment Tool (ELEAT). The ELEAT was originally developed to assess environmental factors in studies of neurodevelopmental disorders. It is a questionnaire filled by mothers of children with ASD, enquiring about Demographic Information, Maternal Conditions/Medical Interventions, Breastfeeding and Child Diet, Maternal Diet, Supplements, Lifestyle, Home and Environment, Environment, Occupation and Exposures. The ELEAT gathers information about environmental exposure along key phases for early neurodevelopment, from 3 months prior to conception, pregnancy, labor and delivery to the first year of life of the child. Two focus groups were realized, one with mothers of typically-developing children and another with mothers of children with ASD, in order to discuss the mothers opinion regarding the tool comprehensiveness and relevance.ResultsThe large majority of mothers were sure about their answers for all modules, with a small fraction of the group reporting difficulties for the Occupations/Exposures module. Most mothers considered the ELEAT to be a little too long, but generally found that the instructions were clear and, most importantly, agreed that the questions were important.ConclusionsIntegration of the pilot feedback will allow us to enhance the tool and optimize its usage in Portuguese-speaking communities, improving its capacity to assemble accurate environmental data from diverse cultural settings, and to be extended to larger population datasets. Combined with genetic and clinical data, the ELEAT will contribute to the identification of modifiable lifestyle and environmental risk factors for ASD. Such evidence may eventually provide the opportunity for disease prevention or reduced severity by mitigating exposure when genetic susceptibility is identified early in life.

scholarly journals Early Life Exposure to Air Pollution and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Epidemiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura A. McGuinn ◽  
Gayle C. Windham ◽  
Amy E. Kalkbrenner ◽  
Chyrise Bradley ◽  
Qian Di ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Early Life Exposure

scholarly journals In Silico Exploration of the Potential Role of Acetaminophen and Pesticides in the Etiology of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Toxics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
Tristan Furnary ◽  
Rolando Garcia-Milian ◽  
Zeyan Liew ◽  
Shannon Whirledge ◽  
Vasilis Vasiliou
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Prenatal Exposure ◽  
Pesticide Exposure ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Biomedical Literature ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Genetic Associations ◽  
Increased Risk

Recent epidemiological studies suggest that prenatal exposure to acetaminophen (APAP) is associated with increased risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 1 in 59 children in the US. Maternal and prenatal exposure to pesticides from food and environmental sources have also been implicated to affect fetal neurodevelopment. However, the underlying mechanisms for ASD are so far unknown, likely with complex and multifactorial etiology. The aim of this study was to explore the potential effects of APAP and pesticide exposure on development with regards to the etiology of ASD by highlighting common genes and biological pathways. Genes associated with APAP, pesticides, and ASD through human research were retrieved from molecular and biomedical literature databases. The interaction network of overlapping genetic associations was subjected to network topology analysis and functional annotation of the resulting clusters. These genes were over-represented in pathways and biological processes (FDR p < 0.05) related to apoptosis, metabolism of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and carbohydrate metabolism. Since these three biological processes are frequently implicated in ASD, our findings support the hypothesis that cell death processes and specific metabolic pathways, both of which appear to be targeted by APAP and pesticide exposure, may be involved in the etiology of ASD. This novel exposures-gene-disease database mining might inspire future work on understanding the biological underpinnings of various ASD risk factors.

scholarly journals Association of Early-Life Social and Digital Media Experiences With Development of Autism Spectrum Disorder–Like Symptoms

2020 ◽  
Vol 174 (7) ◽  
pp. 690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Frankel Heffler ◽  
Danielle M. Sienko ◽  
Keshab Subedi ◽  
Kathleen A. McCann ◽  
David S. Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder

Epigenetic Understanding of Gene-Environment Interaction in Autism Spectrum Disorder

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (03) ◽  
pp. 099-104
Author(s):  
Takeo Kubota
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Gene Function ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Educational Interventions ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Epigenetic Changes ◽  
Current Increase ◽  
Epigenetic State

AbstractThe number of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased in many countries over the past 10 years. Genetic studies have revealed that ASD is caused by mutations in the genes coding proteins related to neuronal function. However, such genetic abnormalities cannot underlie the increase in this disorder since mutations do not accumulate among children in the short-term. Epigenetics is a mechanism that is involved in gene regulation not by changing DNA sequence (mutations) but by changing the chemical modifications of DNA and histone proteins. Current studies suggest that mental stress and other forms of environmental stress in early life alter the epigenetic status of genes and change the neuronal gene function, resulting in persistent behavioral abnormalities. Therefore, it can be speculated that the current increase in the prevalence of ASD is partially caused by epigenetic changes in the brains of children induced by some recent socio-environmental conditions. However, epigenetic changes are reversible. Indeed, it has been demonstrated that some drugs for mental disorders reverse the altered epigenetic state and recover the expression of neuronal genes. It has also been demonstrated that offering an appropriate nurturing environment in early life reverses the altered epigenetic state and recovers the neurological gene function in mouse models of ASD. Therefore, from the epigenetic point of view, early medical and educational interventions may be important for children with ASD.

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