Cited by 347Air Quality and Health ImpactsAutism Spectrum Disorder ResearchEnvironmental Justice and Health Disparities

Residential Proximity to Freeways and Autism in the CHARGE Study

Open access
Volk, Heather E., Hertz-Picciotto, Irva, Delwiche, Lora, Lurmann, Fred, McConnell, Rob·2011·Environmental Health Perspectives

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Little is known about environmental causes and contributing factors for autism. Basic science and epidemiologic research suggest that oxidative stress and inflammation may play a role in disease development. Traffic-related air pollution, a common exposure with established effects on these pathways, contains substances found to have adverse prenatal effects. OBJECTIVES: We examined the association between autism and proximity of residence to freeways and major roadways during pregnancy and near the time of delivery, as a surrogate for air pollution exposure. METHODS: Data were from 304 autism cases and 259 typically developing controls enrolled in the Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE) study. The mother's address recorded on the birth certificate and trimester-specific addresses derived from a residential history obtained by questionnaire were geocoded, and measures of distance to freeways and major roads were calculated using ArcGIS software. Logistic regression models compared residential proximity to freeways and major roads for autism cases and typically developing controls. RESULTS: Adjusting for sociodemographic factors and maternal smoking, maternal residence at the time of delivery was more likely be near a freeway (≤ 309 m) for cases than for controls [odds ratio (OR)=1.86; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04-3.45]. Autism was also associated with residential proximity to a freeway during the third trimester (OR=2.22; CI, 1.16-4.42). After adjustment for socioeconomic and sociodemographic characteristics, these associations were unchanged. Living near other major roads at birth was not associated with autism. CONCLUSIONS: Living near a freeway was associated with autism. Examination of associations with measured air pollutants is needed.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1289/ehp.1002835

Cites

70 of 70 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Residential proximity to freeways in California within 309 m during the third trimester of pregnancy and at birth was found associated with a risk of ASD about twofold higher.

    “Thus, residential proximity to freeways in California within 309 m during the third trimester of pregnancy and at birth was found associated with a risk of ASD about twofold higher (88).”
  • Confounding by family social characteristics was expected, but its degree was not strong and acted in opposite directions across studies, attenuating ORs in some studies and producing elevated ORs in others.

    “Although confounding by such family social characteristics was expected, the degree of this confounding was not strong and acted in opposite directions across studies, attenuating ORs in some studies71,72 and producing elevated ORs in other studies.73,74”
  • Environmental chemicals that have been implicated as risk factors for ASD include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), lead, bisphenol A (BPA), mercury, and pesticides.

    “Environmental chemicals that have been implicated as risk factors for ASD include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), lead, bisphenol A (BPA), mercury, and pesticides ( Tables 1–2 ) [ 52–62 ].”

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

1 of the 71 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Braunschweig D Ashwood P Krakowiak P Hertz-Picciotto I Hansen R Croen LA 2008 Autism: maternally derived antibodies specific for fetal brains Neurotoxicology 29 2 226 231 18078998 PMC2305723
  2. Sparrow S Cicchettim D Balla D 1984 Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales Interview Edition Expanded Form Manual Circle Pines, MN American Guidance Services Inc
  3. Williams TA Mars AE Buyske SG Stenroos ES Wang R Factura-Santiago MF 2007 Risk of autistic disorder in affected offspring of mothers with a glutathione S-transferase P1 haplotype Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 161 4 356 361 17404132

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Volk, H. E., Hertz-Picciotto, I., Delwiche, L., Lurmann, F., & McConnell, R.
Affiliations
  • University of Southern California (US)
  • Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California–Davis, Davis, California, USA
  • University of California, Davis (US)
  • Sonoma Technology (United States) (US)
Corresponding author
Volk, Heather E.
Venue
Environmental Health Perspectives
Published
2010-12-16
Volume
119
Issue
6
Pages
873-877
ISSN
  • 0091-6765 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-9924
OpenAlex
W2000262719
Cited by
347
References
71
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 38 · 2016: 34 · 2015: 33 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 27 · 2012: 29
FWCI
14.38
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Environmental Health Perspectives (publishedVersion, public-domain)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, public-domain)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Autism Speaks
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (R-833292, 833292, RD831861)
  • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (RD831861)
  • National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R21ES019002, ES019002, L40 ES020599, ES015359, ES013578, R01ES015359, ES007048, ES009581, P01ES011269, ES11269, P01ES009581, P30ES007048)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Air Quality and Health Impacts
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Environmental Justice and Health Disparities
Keywords
autism spectrum disorder, traffic-related air pollution, prenatal exposure, third trimester, childhood autism, environmental risk factors, oxidative stress, inflammation
MeSH terms
Air Pollutants, Autistic Disorder, Vehicle Emissions, California, Child, Preschool, Environmental Exposure, Female, Humans, Male, Pregnancy, Residence Characteristics, Urban Health, Logistic Models, Odds Ratio, Case-Control Studies, Geographic Information Systems

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review