Air Pollution Exposure during Pregnancy and Childhood Autistic Traits in Four European Population-Based Cohort Studies: The ESCAPE Project

Mònica Guxens; Akhgar Ghassabian; Tong Gong; Raquel Garcia-Esteban; Daniela Porta; Lise Giorgis-Allemand; Catarina Almqvist; Aritz Aranbarri; Rob Beelen; Chiara Badaloni; Giulia Cesaroni; Audrey de Nazelle; Marisa Estarlich; Francesco Forastiere; Joan Forns; Ulrike Gehring; Jesús Ibarluzea; Vincent W Jaddoe; Michal Korek; Paul Lichtenstein; Mark J Nieuwenhuijsen; Marisa Rebagliato; Rémy Slama; Henning Tiemeier; Frank C Verhulst; Heather E Volk; Göran Pershagen; Bert Brunekreef; Jordi Sunyer

doi:10.1289/ehp.1408483

Air Pollution Exposure during Pregnancy and Childhood Autistic Traits in Four European Population-Based Cohort Studies: The ESCAPE Project

Mònica Guxens, Akhgar Ghassabian, Tong Gong, Raquel Garcia-Esteban, Daniela Porta, Lise Giorgis-Allemand, Catarina Almqvist, Aritz Aranbarri, Rob Beelen, Chiara Badaloni, Giulia Cesaroni, Audrey de Nazelle, Marisa Estarlich, Francesco Forastiere, Joan Forns, Ulrike Gehring, Jesús Ibarluzea, Vincent W Jaddoe, Michal Korek, Paul LichtensteinMark J Nieuwenhuijsen, Marisa Rebagliato, Rémy Slama, Henning Tiemeier, Frank C Verhulst, Heather E Volk, Göran Pershagen, Bert Brunekreef, Jordi Sunyer

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Prenatal exposure to air pollutants has been suggested as a possible etiologic factor for the occurrence of autism spectrum disorder.

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether prenatal air pollution exposure is associated with childhood autistic traits in the general population.

METHODS: Collaborative study of four European population-based birth/child cohorts -CATSS (Sweden), GENERATION R (the Netherlands), GASPII (Italy), and INMA (Spain). Nitrogen oxides (NO2, NOx) and particulate matter (PM) with diameters of <2.5 µm (PM2.5), <10 µm (PM10), and between 2.5-10 µm (PMcoarse) and PM2.5 absorbance- were estimated for birth addresses by land-use regression models based on monitoring campaigns performed between 2008 and 2011. Levels were extrapolated back in time to exact pregnancy periods. Autistic traits were assessed between four and ten years of age using quantitative assessments. Children were classified with autistic traits within the borderline/clinical range and within the clinical range using validated cut-offs. Adjusted cohort-specific effect estimates were combined using random-effects meta-analysis.

RESULTS: A total of 8,079 children were included. Prenatal air pollution exposure was not associated with autistic traits within the borderline/clinical range (OR = 0.94; 95% CI: 0.81, 1.10 per each increase by 10 µg/m(3) in NO2 pregnancy levels). Similar results were observed in the different cohorts, for the other pollutants, and assessing children with autistic traits within the clinical range or children with autistic traits as a quantitative score.

CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal exposure to NO2 and PM was not associated with autistic traits in children from four to ten years of age in four European population-based birth/child cohort studies.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	133-140
Number of pages	8
Journal	Environmental Health Perspectives
Volume	124
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408483
Publication status	Published - Jan 2016

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Guxens, M., Ghassabian, A., Gong, T., Garcia-Esteban, R., Porta, D., Giorgis-Allemand, L., Almqvist, C., Aranbarri, A., Beelen, R., Badaloni, C., Cesaroni, G., de Nazelle, A., Estarlich, M., Forastiere, F., Forns, J., Gehring, U., Ibarluzea, J., Jaddoe, V. W., Korek, M., ... Sunyer, J. (2016). Air Pollution Exposure during Pregnancy and Childhood Autistic Traits in Four European Population-Based Cohort Studies: The ESCAPE Project. Environmental Health Perspectives, 124(1), 133-140. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408483

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title = "Air Pollution Exposure during Pregnancy and Childhood Autistic Traits in Four European Population-Based Cohort Studies: The ESCAPE Project",

abstract = "BACKGROUND: Prenatal exposure to air pollutants has been suggested as a possible etiologic factor for the occurrence of autism spectrum disorder.OBJECTIVES: To assess whether prenatal air pollution exposure is associated with childhood autistic traits in the general population.METHODS: Collaborative study of four European population-based birth/child cohorts -CATSS (Sweden), GENERATION R (the Netherlands), GASPII (Italy), and INMA (Spain). Nitrogen oxides (NO2, NOx) and particulate matter (PM) with diameters of <2.5 µm (PM2.5), <10 µm (PM10), and between 2.5-10 µm (PMcoarse) and PM2.5 absorbance- were estimated for birth addresses by land-use regression models based on monitoring campaigns performed between 2008 and 2011. Levels were extrapolated back in time to exact pregnancy periods. Autistic traits were assessed between four and ten years of age using quantitative assessments. Children were classified with autistic traits within the borderline/clinical range and within the clinical range using validated cut-offs. Adjusted cohort-specific effect estimates were combined using random-effects meta-analysis.RESULTS: A total of 8,079 children were included. Prenatal air pollution exposure was not associated with autistic traits within the borderline/clinical range (OR = 0.94; 95% CI: 0.81, 1.10 per each increase by 10 µg/m(3) in NO2 pregnancy levels). Similar results were observed in the different cohorts, for the other pollutants, and assessing children with autistic traits within the clinical range or children with autistic traits as a quantitative score.CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal exposure to NO2 and PM was not associated with autistic traits in children from four to ten years of age in four European population-based birth/child cohort studies.",

author = "M{\`o}nica Guxens and Akhgar Ghassabian and Tong Gong and Raquel Garcia-Esteban and Daniela Porta and Lise Giorgis-Allemand and Catarina Almqvist and Aritz Aranbarri and Rob Beelen and Chiara Badaloni and Giulia Cesaroni and {de Nazelle}, Audrey and Marisa Estarlich and Francesco Forastiere and Joan Forns and Ulrike Gehring and Jes{\'u}s Ibarluzea and Jaddoe, {Vincent W} and Michal Korek and Paul Lichtenstein and Nieuwenhuijsen, {Mark J} and Marisa Rebagliato and R{\'e}my Slama and Henning Tiemeier and Verhulst, {Frank C} and Volk, {Heather E} and G{\"o}ran Pershagen and Bert Brunekreef and Jordi Sunyer",

year = "2016",

month = jan,

doi = "10.1289/ehp.1408483",

language = "English",

volume = "124",

pages = "133--140",

journal = "Environmental Health Perspectives",

issn = "0091-6765",

publisher = "Public Health Services, US Dept of Health and Human Services",

number = "1",

}

Guxens, M, Ghassabian, A, Gong, T, Garcia-Esteban, R, Porta, D, Giorgis-Allemand, L, Almqvist, C, Aranbarri, A, Beelen, R, Badaloni, C, Cesaroni, G, de Nazelle, A, Estarlich, M, Forastiere, F, Forns, J, Gehring, U, Ibarluzea, J, Jaddoe, VW, Korek, M, Lichtenstein, P, Nieuwenhuijsen, MJ, Rebagliato, M, Slama, R, Tiemeier, H, Verhulst, FC, Volk, HE, Pershagen, G, Brunekreef, B & Sunyer, J 2016, 'Air Pollution Exposure during Pregnancy and Childhood Autistic Traits in Four European Population-Based Cohort Studies: The ESCAPE Project', Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 124, no. 1, pp. 133-140. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408483

TY - JOUR

T1 - Air Pollution Exposure during Pregnancy and Childhood Autistic Traits in Four European Population-Based Cohort Studies

T2 - The ESCAPE Project

AU - Guxens, Mònica

AU - Ghassabian, Akhgar

AU - Gong, Tong

AU - Garcia-Esteban, Raquel

AU - Porta, Daniela

AU - Giorgis-Allemand, Lise

AU - Almqvist, Catarina

AU - Aranbarri, Aritz

AU - Beelen, Rob

AU - Badaloni, Chiara

AU - Cesaroni, Giulia

AU - de Nazelle, Audrey

AU - Estarlich, Marisa

AU - Forastiere, Francesco

AU - Forns, Joan

AU - Gehring, Ulrike

AU - Ibarluzea, Jesús

AU - Jaddoe, Vincent W

AU - Korek, Michal

AU - Lichtenstein, Paul

AU - Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J

AU - Rebagliato, Marisa

AU - Slama, Rémy

AU - Tiemeier, Henning

AU - Verhulst, Frank C

AU - Volk, Heather E

AU - Pershagen, Göran

AU - Brunekreef, Bert

AU - Sunyer, Jordi

PY - 2016/1

Y1 - 2016/1

N2 - BACKGROUND: Prenatal exposure to air pollutants has been suggested as a possible etiologic factor for the occurrence of autism spectrum disorder.OBJECTIVES: To assess whether prenatal air pollution exposure is associated with childhood autistic traits in the general population.METHODS: Collaborative study of four European population-based birth/child cohorts -CATSS (Sweden), GENERATION R (the Netherlands), GASPII (Italy), and INMA (Spain). Nitrogen oxides (NO2, NOx) and particulate matter (PM) with diameters of <2.5 µm (PM2.5), <10 µm (PM10), and between 2.5-10 µm (PMcoarse) and PM2.5 absorbance- were estimated for birth addresses by land-use regression models based on monitoring campaigns performed between 2008 and 2011. Levels were extrapolated back in time to exact pregnancy periods. Autistic traits were assessed between four and ten years of age using quantitative assessments. Children were classified with autistic traits within the borderline/clinical range and within the clinical range using validated cut-offs. Adjusted cohort-specific effect estimates were combined using random-effects meta-analysis.RESULTS: A total of 8,079 children were included. Prenatal air pollution exposure was not associated with autistic traits within the borderline/clinical range (OR = 0.94; 95% CI: 0.81, 1.10 per each increase by 10 µg/m(3) in NO2 pregnancy levels). Similar results were observed in the different cohorts, for the other pollutants, and assessing children with autistic traits within the clinical range or children with autistic traits as a quantitative score.CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal exposure to NO2 and PM was not associated with autistic traits in children from four to ten years of age in four European population-based birth/child cohort studies.

AB - BACKGROUND: Prenatal exposure to air pollutants has been suggested as a possible etiologic factor for the occurrence of autism spectrum disorder.OBJECTIVES: To assess whether prenatal air pollution exposure is associated with childhood autistic traits in the general population.METHODS: Collaborative study of four European population-based birth/child cohorts -CATSS (Sweden), GENERATION R (the Netherlands), GASPII (Italy), and INMA (Spain). Nitrogen oxides (NO2, NOx) and particulate matter (PM) with diameters of <2.5 µm (PM2.5), <10 µm (PM10), and between 2.5-10 µm (PMcoarse) and PM2.5 absorbance- were estimated for birth addresses by land-use regression models based on monitoring campaigns performed between 2008 and 2011. Levels were extrapolated back in time to exact pregnancy periods. Autistic traits were assessed between four and ten years of age using quantitative assessments. Children were classified with autistic traits within the borderline/clinical range and within the clinical range using validated cut-offs. Adjusted cohort-specific effect estimates were combined using random-effects meta-analysis.RESULTS: A total of 8,079 children were included. Prenatal air pollution exposure was not associated with autistic traits within the borderline/clinical range (OR = 0.94; 95% CI: 0.81, 1.10 per each increase by 10 µg/m(3) in NO2 pregnancy levels). Similar results were observed in the different cohorts, for the other pollutants, and assessing children with autistic traits within the clinical range or children with autistic traits as a quantitative score.CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal exposure to NO2 and PM was not associated with autistic traits in children from four to ten years of age in four European population-based birth/child cohort studies.

U2 - 10.1289/ehp.1408483

DO - 10.1289/ehp.1408483

M3 - Article

C2 - 26068947

SN - 0091-6765

VL - 124

SP - 133

EP - 140

JO - Environmental Health Perspectives

JF - Environmental Health Perspectives

IS - 1

ER -

Air Pollution Exposure during Pregnancy and Childhood Autistic Traits in Four European Population-Based Cohort Studies: The ESCAPE Project

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