TY - JOUR
T1 - Concentrations of lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, manganese, and aluminum in the blood of Pakistani children with and without autism spectrum disorder and their associated factors
AU - Rahbar, Mohammad H.
AU - Ibrahim, Shahnaz H.
AU - Azam, Syed Iqbal
AU - Hessabi, Manouchehr
AU - Karim, Fatima
AU - Kim, Sori
AU - Zhang, Jing
AU - Ali, Nasreen Gulzar
AU - Loveland, Katherine A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/8/2
Y1 - 2021/8/2
N2 - Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with early onset in utero or childhood. Environmental exposure to six metals (Pb, Hg, As, Cd, Mn, Al) is believed to be associated with ASD directly or interactively with genes. Objective: To assess the association of ASD among Pakistani children with the six metals and genotype frequencies of three GST genes (GSTP1, GSTM1, GSTT1). Methods: We enrolled 30 ASD cases, age 2–12 years old, and 30 age-and sex-matched typically developing (TD) controls in Karachi, Pakistan. We assessed associations of ASD status with various factors using Conditional Logistic Regression models. We also used General Linear Models to assess possible interaction of blood Mn and Pb concentrations with the three GST genes in relation to ASD status. Results: The unadjusted difference between ASD and TD groups in terms of geometric mean blood Pb concentrations was marginally significant (p = 0.05), but for Al concentrations, the adjusted difference was marginally significant (p = 0.06). Conclusions: This is the first study reporting six blood metal concentrations of Pakistani children with ASD. Estimates provided for possible interactions of GST genes with Mn and Pb in relation to ASD status are valuable for designing future similar studies.
AB - Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with early onset in utero or childhood. Environmental exposure to six metals (Pb, Hg, As, Cd, Mn, Al) is believed to be associated with ASD directly or interactively with genes. Objective: To assess the association of ASD among Pakistani children with the six metals and genotype frequencies of three GST genes (GSTP1, GSTM1, GSTT1). Methods: We enrolled 30 ASD cases, age 2–12 years old, and 30 age-and sex-matched typically developing (TD) controls in Karachi, Pakistan. We assessed associations of ASD status with various factors using Conditional Logistic Regression models. We also used General Linear Models to assess possible interaction of blood Mn and Pb concentrations with the three GST genes in relation to ASD status. Results: The unadjusted difference between ASD and TD groups in terms of geometric mean blood Pb concentrations was marginally significant (p = 0.05), but for Al concentrations, the adjusted difference was marginally significant (p = 0.06). Conclusions: This is the first study reporting six blood metal concentrations of Pakistani children with ASD. Estimates provided for possible interactions of GST genes with Mn and Pb in relation to ASD status are valuable for designing future similar studies.
KW - Autism spectrum disorder
KW - GST genes (GSTP1, GSTM1, GSTT1)
KW - Interaction
KW - Metals
KW - Pakistan
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85112385765&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph18168625
DO - 10.3390/ijerph18168625
M3 - Article
C2 - 34444373
AN - SCOPUS:85112385765
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 18
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 16
M1 - 8625
ER -