Maternal serum persistent organic pollutants in the Finnish prenatal study of autism: a pilot study
Open accessAbstract
Recent research emphasizes the contribution of environmental as well as genetic factors to the etiology of autism but studies testing associations between chemical exposures and autism have been limited. Prenatal exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) has previously been associated with decrements in cognitive and developmental performance. We conducted a pilot study in the Finnish Prenatal Study of Autism (FiPS-A). Seventy-five cases with autism and 75 controls matched on sex, birth year, urbanization and maternal age were sampled from first-born children in the Finnish Maternity Cohort, which includes over 1million births. The study sample included births occurring from 1991 to 2000. Subjects were followed up for autism through 2007. DDT, DDE, PCB-118, PCB-138, PCB-153, PCB-156, PCB-170, PCB-180, hexachlorobenzene, and BDE-47 were measured in archived maternal serum samples taken during pregnancy using gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry. Correlations between pollutant measures were assessed and mechanistically-related weighting schemes for summarizing PCB levels were compared. Case and control differences were assessed using graphical and statistical methods. All analytes, with the exception of DDT and BDE-47, were detected above the limit of quantification in all samples. The correlation between levels of individual PCB congeners and weighted summary measures was high (0.71-1.00). Paired t-tests revealed no significant differences between cases and controls for log-transformed mean values of any analyte; however, in an adjusted model the odds ratios for autism were 1.91 (p=0.29) and 1.79 (p=0.36) respectively, for subjects with total PCBs and DDE above the 90th percentile of control values. Levels of prenatal PCB exposure in FIPS-A were similar to the levels which previously correlated with poorer neurodevelopmental measures in other populations. Further study in a larger sample will be required to fully determine whether exposure to high POP levels is associated with autism diagnosis in the population.
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The Finnish pilot study's sample of 75 children with autism was too modest for precise, conclusive results.
“the modest sample (75 children with autism) did not allow for precise, conclusive results”
From Environmental Chemical Exposures and Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Review of the Epidemiological Evidence (2014) · cites this paper as [137]
In a Finnish pilot study, PCB-autism associations were mostly elevated.
“Associations between PCBs and autism from a pilot study in Finland were mostly elevated”
From Environmental Chemical Exposures and Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Review of the Epidemiological Evidence (2014) · cites this paper as [137]
The Finnish pilot study's lack of adjustment for birth order may have slightly biased its findings.
“the lack of adjustment for birth order may have slightly biased these findings”
From Environmental Chemical Exposures and Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Review of the Epidemiological Evidence (2014) · cites this paper as [137]
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- Authors
- Cheslack-Postava, K., Rantakokko, P. V., Hinkka-Yli-Salomäki, S., Surcel, H.-M., McKeague, I. W., Kiviranta, H. A., Sourander, A., & Brown, A. S.
- Affiliations
- Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (FI)
- Columbia University (US)
- New York State Psychiatric Institute (US)
- Venue
- Neurotoxicology and Teratology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2013-07
- Volume
- 38
- Pages
- 1-5
- ISSN
- 0892-0362 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3713110
- OpenAlex
- W2082213808
- Cited by
- 102
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 5
- FWCI
- 7.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Neurotoxicology and Teratology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- STM:n Hallinnonalan avoin julkaisuarkisto (Julkari) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Mental Health (K02MH065422, 5K02-MH65422, T32MH013043)
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R01ES019004)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals
- Keywords
- autism spectrum disorder, persistent organic pollutants, prenatal exposure, maternal serum, polychlorinated biphenyls, DDT, DDE, hexachlorobenzene, BDE-47, PCB congeners, environmental risk factors, brain development
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Autistic Disorder, Environmental Pollutants, Female, Humans, Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated, Male, Mothers, Pilot Projects, Pregnancy, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Case-Control Studies, Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers
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