CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 154Trace Elements in HealthHeavy Metal Exposure and ToxicityAutism Spectrum Disorder Research

Analyses of toxic metals and essential minerals in the hair of Arizona children with autism and associated conditions, and their mothers

Adams, J. B., Holloway, C. E., George, F., Quig, D.·2006·Biological Trace Element Research
DOI 10.1385/bter:110:3:193
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess the levels of 39 toxic metals and essential minerals in hair samples of children with autism spectrum disorders and their mothers compared to controls. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry was used to analyze the elemental content of the hair of children with autism spectrum disorders (n=51), a subset of their mothers (n=29), neurotypical children (n=40), and a subset of their mothers (n=25). All participants were recruited from Arizona. Iodine levels were 45% lower in the children with autism (p=0.005). Autistic children with pica had a 38% lower level of chromium (p=0.002). Autistic children with low muscle tone had very low levels of potassium (-66%, p=0.01) and high zinc (31%, p=0.01). The mothers of young children with autism had especially low levels of lithium (56% lower, p=0.005), and the young children (ages 3-6 yr) with autism also had low lithium (-30%, p=0.04). Low iodine levels are consistent with previous reports of abnormal thyroid function, which likely affected development of speech and cognitive skills. Low lithium in the mothers likely caused low levels of lithium in the young children, which could have affected their neurological and immunological development. Further investigations of iodine, lithium, and other elements are warranted.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1385/bter:110:3:193

Cites

23 of 23 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

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?

  • GI disorders such as intestinal pain, constipation, and diarrhea are often associated with an altered composition of the gut microbiota.

    “GI disorders such as intestinal pain, constipation and diarrhea are often associated with an altered composition of the gut microbiota [28,132,140,141,142].”

    From Autism, Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Modulation of Gut Microbiota by Nutritional Interventions (2019) · cites this paper as [132]

  • In studies on 140-170 children with ASD, 24-63% had a history of at least one GI symptom, including diarrhea or unformed stools, constipation, bloating, and/or gastroesophageal reflux.

    “In the literature, we have found in-depth studies on 140–170 children with ASD, of which 24–63% had a history of at least one GI symptom, including: diarrhea or unformed stools, constipation, bloating, and/or gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) [31,125,131,132].”

    From Autism, Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Modulation of Gut Microbiota by Nutritional Interventions (2019) · cites this paper as [132]

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Adams, J. B., Holloway, C. E., George, F., & Quig, D.
Affiliations
Arizona State University (US)
ORCID
Adams, J. B.
Venue
Biological Trace Element Research
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2006
Volume
110
Issue
3
Pages
193-210
ISSN
0163-4984 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1385/bter:110:3:193
OpenAlex
W2150186622
Cited by
154
References
23
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 8
FWCI
3.23
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Biological Trace Element Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Trace Elements in Health
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
Keywords
autism spectrum disorder, toxic metals, essential minerals, hair analysis, iodine deficiency, lithium deficiency, pica, chromium, zinc, potassium, maternal hair, children, Arizona
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Arizona, Autistic Disorder, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Hair, Humans, Metals, Minerals, Mothers, Case-Control Studies

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