Association Between Air Pollution Exposure, Cognitive and Adaptive Function, and ASD Severity Among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Tara Kerin, Heather Volk, Weiyan Li and 4 others
PMID 28921105WHAT IT FOUND
Higher nitrogen dioxide exposure during pregnancy and the first year was linked to lower cognitive and adaptive scores in children with autism.
It was not linked to autism severity. It is not proof pollution caused the deficits.
Key findings
01In children with ASD, higher nitrogen dioxide exposure during pregnancy and the first year was associated with lower adaptive and cognitive scores, while other pollutants showed no overall association.
02Higher pregnancy nitrogen dioxide was associated with an 11.0% decrease in the Vineland adaptive composite score for a 2 standard deviation increase in NO2 (6.82 ppb).
03No pollutant exposure was associated with the ADOS severity score in children with ASD.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study is observational and cannot establish cause. Exposure was estimated from addresses and models, not personal indoor monitoring, so actual exposure may be misclassified. The sample came from California regional centers and providers, so results may not apply to other areas. Residual confounding remains possible because socioeconomic categories, nutrition, and parent-child interactions may not be fully captured. The ADOS severity score was weakly correlated with cognitive and adaptive scores, so no association with severity may not rule out effects on other autism-related traits. Several outcomes were tested, and the unexpected third-trimester PM10 association with better adaptive scores was considered likely random fluctuation or residual confounding. The eligible ASD sample was reduced from 446 to 325 after exclusions.
Declared interests
No funding source is stated. The conflict-of-interest statement says the other authors declare no competing financial interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that pollution caused the deficits. NO2 may be a marker for the near-roadway mixture or other unmeasured pollutants, and the authors state they cannot conclude any one pollutant is responsible.