An Ecological Study on Childhood Autism

Overview

Journal Int J Health Geogr

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialties Health Services
Public Health

Date 2012 Oct 12

PMID 23051560

Citations 4

Authors

Sophie St-Hilaire

Victor O Ezike

Henrik Stryhn

Michael A Thomas

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background And Methods: Idiopathic autism, suspected to be caused by exposure of genetically susceptible individuals to unknown environmental triggers, has increased dramatically in the past 25 years. The objectives of our study were to determine, using a linear regression model, whether the county prevalence of autism in the Pacific Northwest of the United States was associated with the source of drinking water for that county and whether this relationship was dependent on the level of environmental pollutants and meteorological factors in the county.

Results: We found the previously reported relationship between precipitation and autism in a county was dependent on the amount of drinking water derived from surface sources in the county. We also found a positive association between the EPA's risk of neurological disease and autism, but this relationship was only present in warm areas.

Conclusions: Our study provides evidence for the hypothesis that environmental factors are associated with autism and that meteorological factors play a role in this relationship.

Citing Articles

The Novel Potential Therapeutic Utility of Montelukast in Alleviating Autistic Behavior Induced by Early Postnatal Administration of Thimerosal in Mice.

Abdelzaher L, Hussein O, Ashry I Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2020; 41(1):129-150.

PMID: 32303879 PMC: 11448635. DOI: 10.1007/s10571-020-00841-2.

mTOR signalling pathway - A root cause for idiopathic autism?.

Ganesan H, Balasubramanian V, Iyer M, Venugopal A, Subramaniam M, Cho S BMB Rep. 2019; 52(7):424-433.

PMID: 31186084 PMC: 6675248.

A Review of Oxytocin and Arginine-Vasopressin Receptors and Their Modulation of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Cataldo I, Azhari A, Esposito G Front Mol Neurosci. 2018; 11:27.

PMID: 29487501 PMC: 5816822. DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2018.00027.

Environmental factors associated with autism spectrum disorder: a scoping review for the years 2003-2013.

Ng M, de Montigny J, Ofner M, Do M Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can. 2017; 37(1):1-23.

PMID: 28102992 PMC: 5480297. DOI: 10.24095/hpcdp.37.1.01.

Epigenetic findings in autism: new perspectives for therapy.

Siniscalco D, Cirillo A, Bradstreet J, Antonucci N Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2013; 10(9):4261-73.

PMID: 24030655 PMC: 3799534. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph10094261.

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