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Air Pollution during Pregnancy and Childhood Autism Spectrum Disorder in Taiwan

Author

Listed:
  • Shu-Yuan Wang

    (Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, College of Medical, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 704, Taiwan)

  • Ya-Yun Cheng

    (Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, College of Medical, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 704, Taiwan
    Department of Environmental Health, Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA)

  • How-Ran Guo

    (Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, College of Medical, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 704, Taiwan
    Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan 704, Taiwan)

  • Yen-Cheng Tseng

    (Department of Tourism, Food, and Beverage Management, College of Management, Chang Jung Christian University, Tainan 711, Taiwan)

Abstract

Air pollutants have been linked to some diseases in humans, but their effects on the nervous system were less frequently evaluated. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of neurondevelopmental disorders of which the etiology is still unknown. We conducted a study in Taiwan to evaluate the possible associations between prenatal exposure to air pollutants and ASD. From a random sample of one million people in the National Insurance Research Database, we identified all the infants born between 1996 and 2000. We followed them till the end of 2013 and identified cases of ASD. We traced back the mothers’ residence and assessed the exposure to air pollutants using the data obtained from the air quality monitoring database maintained by the government, which included ozone (O 3 ), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), and particulate matters with diameter less than 10 µm (PM 10 ). Cox proportional hazard models were constructed to evaluate the associations between childhood ASD and exposures to the pollutants in the three trimesters and the whole gestation. We identified a total of 63,376 newborns and included 62,919 as the study cohort. After adjusting for other risk factors, we observed trimester-specific associations between levels of CO, NO 2 , and PM 10 and the risk of childhood ASD. An increase of 1 ppm of CO in the first, second, and third trimester was associated with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.93 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.55–2.39), 1.77 (95%CI: 1.41–2.22), and 1.75 (95%CI: 1.39–2.21), respectively. An increase of 10 ppb in the level of NO 2 in the first, second, and third trimester was associated with an HR of 1.39 (95%CI: 1.22–1.58), 1.25 (95%CI: 1.10–1.42), and 1.18 (95%CI: 1.03–1.34), respectively. In conclusion, we found that exposures to CO and NO 2 in all three trimesters were associated with increased risks of developing ASD.

Suggested Citation

  • Shu-Yuan Wang & Ya-Yun Cheng & How-Ran Guo & Yen-Cheng Tseng, 2021. "Air Pollution during Pregnancy and Childhood Autism Spectrum Disorder in Taiwan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-21, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:18:p:9784-:d:637374
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Currie, Janet & Neidell, Matthew & Schmieder, Johannes F., 2009. "Air pollution and infant health: Lessons from New Jersey," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 688-703, May.
    2. Ching-Chun Lin & Shih-Kuan Yang & Kuan-Chia Lin & Wen-Chao Ho & Wu-Shiun Hsieh & Bih-Ching Shu & Pau-Chung Chen, 2014. "Multilevel Analysis of Air Pollution and Early Childhood Neurobehavioral Development," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-15, July.
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    1. Hung-Ta Wen & Jau-Huai Lu & Deng-Siang Jhang, 2021. "Features Importance Analysis of Diesel Vehicles’ NO x and CO 2 Emission Predictions in Real Road Driving Based on Gradient Boosting Regression Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-28, December.
    2. Wahida Musarrat Anita & Kayo Ueda & Athicha Uttajug & Xerxes Tesoro Seposo & Hirohisa Takano, 2023. "Association between Long-Term Ambient PM2.5 Exposure and under-5 Mortality: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-15, February.

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