Early life exposure to particulate matter air pollution (PM1, PM2.5 and PM10) and autism in Shanghai, China: A case-control study

Gongbo Chen; Zhijuan Jin; Shanshan Li; Xingming Jin; Shilu Tong; Shijian Liu; You Yang; Hong Huang; Yuming Guo

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2018.10.026

Early life exposure to particulate matter air pollution (PM₁, PM_2.5 and PM₁₀) and autism in Shanghai, China: A case-control study

Environ Int. 2018 Dec;121(Pt 2):1121-1127. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2018.10.026. Epub 2018 Nov 5.

Authors

Gongbo Chen¹, Zhijuan Jin², Shanshan Li¹, Xingming Jin², Shilu Tong³, Shijian Liu⁴, You Yang², Hong Huang⁵, Yuming Guo⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
² Department of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China.
³ Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Pediatric Translational Medicine Institute, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China; School of Public Health and Institute of Environment and Human Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China; School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
⁴ Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Pediatric Translational Medicine Institute, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
⁵ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: huanghong@smhb.gov.cn.
⁶ Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address: yuming.guo@monash.edu.

PMID: 30409451
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2018.10.026

Abstract

Background: The evidence for adverse effects of ambient particulate matter (PM) pollution on mental health is limited. Studies in Western countries suggested higher risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) associated with PM air pollution, but no such study has been done in developing countries.

Methods: A case-control study was performed in Shanghai with a multi-stage random sampling design. Children's exposures to PM₁, PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter < 1 μm, < 2.5 μm and < 10 μm, respectively) during the first three years after birth were estimated with satellite remote sensing data. Conditional logistic regression was used to examine the PM-ASD association.

Results: In total, 124 ASD cases and 1240 healthy controls were included in this study. The median levels of PM₁, PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ exposures during the first three years of life were 48.8 μg/m³, 66.2 μg/m³ and 95.4 μg/m³, respectively, and the interquartile range (IQR) for these three pollutants were 4.8 μg/m³, 3.4 μg/m³ and 4.9 μg/m³, respectively. The adjusted odds ratios (and 95% confidence intervals) of ASD associated with an IQR increase for PM₁, PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ were 1.86 (1.09, 3.17), 1.78 (1.14, 2.76) and 1.68 (1.09, 2.59), respectively. Higher ORs of ASD associated with PM pollution were observed in the second and the third year after birth.

Conclusions: Exposures to PM₁, PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ during the first three years of life were associated with the increased risk of ASD and there appeared to be stronger effects of ambient PM pollution on ASD in the second and the third years after birth.

Keywords: Air pollution; Autism; China; PM(1); PM(10); PM(2.5).

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants / analysis*
Autism Spectrum Disorder / epidemiology*
Case-Control Studies
Child, Preschool
China / epidemiology
Environmental Exposure / statistics & numerical data*
Humans
Particulate Matter / analysis*

Substances

Air Pollutants
Particulate Matter