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. 2021 Aug 15;18(16):8625.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18168625.

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

Mohammad H Rahbar  1   2   3 , Shahnaz H Ibrahim  4   5 , Syed Iqbal Azam  6 , Manouchehr Hessabi  3 , Fatima Karim  6 , Sori Kim  3   7 , Jing Zhang  3   7 , Nasreen Gulzar Ali  4 , Katherine A Loveland  8
Affiliations

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

Mohammad H Rahbar et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

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.

Keywords: GST genes (GSTP1, GSTM1, GSTT1); Pakistan; autism spectrum disorder; interaction; metals.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

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