PMID- 36218012 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20221012 LR - 20221115 IS - 1939-3806 (Electronic) IS - 1939-3806 (Linking) VI - 15 IP - 10 DP - 2022 Oct TI - Association of urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites with symptoms among autistic children: A case-control study in Tianjin, China. PG - 1941-1960 LID - 10.1002/aur.2788 [doi] AB - Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous pollutants that are associated with altered neurodevelopment and various neurodevelopmental disorders. However, studies evaluating internal biomarkers of PAH exposure in reference to the severity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptomology and autistic behaviors are scarce. Hence, we conducted a case-control study evaluating 12 urinary hydroxylated PAH metabolites (i.e., hydroxy-PAHs) in 101 children with autism and 101 neurotypical children, matching according to sex and age in a 1:1 ratio. In children with ASD, the severity of symptomology and autistic behaviors were assessed using the child autism rating scale (CARS) and the autism behavior checklist (ABC). We found that urinary levels of nine of the hydroxy-PAHs were statistically significantly higher in the ASD group, with the exception of 2-hydroxynaphthalene (2-OHNap) and 4-hydroxyphenanthrene (4-OHPhe). Moreover, urinary hydroxy-PAH levels were associated with ASD risk, with odds ratios ranging from 1.86 to 17.19. Exposures to 1-hydroxynaphthalene (1-OHNap, beta = 3.32), hydroxyphenanthrenes (1/2/3 + 9-OHPhes, beta = 3.41-5.12), 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OH-Pyr; beta = 3.91), 2-hydroxybenzofuran (2-OHDBF; beta = 3.93), and summation operatorOH-PAHs (beta = 4.67) were positively associated with CARS scores after adjusting for covariates (all p < 0.05). When applying the ABC scale, 1-OHPyr levels were positively associated with ABC total scores (beta = 18.54), with the strongest associations evidenced in regard to the social relatedness (beta = 6.51) and language domains (beta = 6.51) (all p < 0.05). Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) showed consistent positive exposure responses for 1-OHNap, 1-OHPhe, and 3 + 9-OHPhe levels in regard to CARS scores, and for 1-OHPyr levels in regard to ABC total scores. Our findings suggest that children with ASD may have higher urinary levels of hydroxy-PAHs, and that these biomarker levels are associated with an increased odds of ASD, an increased severity of autism symptomology, and increased autistic behaviors in children with autism. LAY SUMMARY: We conducted an epidemiologic study evaluating the associations of urinary hydroxy-PAH levels with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), autism symptomology, and autistic behaviors. We found that urinary hydroxy-PAHs were statistically significantly associated with ASD. We note strong statistically significant associations between 1-OHNap, 1-OHPhe, and 3 + 9-OHPhe levels and increased severity of autism symptomology, as well as a strong statistically significant association between 1-OHPyr levels and behavioral characteristics within the social and linguistic domains. This work, if confirmed, will contribute to the future development of diagnostics for children with mild autism, as well as to environmental measures to promote the health and wellbeing of children with autism spectrum disorders. CI - (c) 2022 International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC. FAU - Li, Peiying AU - Li P AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-3893-8902 AD - Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China. AD - Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environment, Nutrition and Public Health, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China. FAU - Yang, Qiaoyun AU - Yang Q AD - Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environment, Nutrition and Public Health, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China. AD - Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China. FAU - Li, Yao AU - Li Y AD - Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China. FAU - Han, Yu AU - Han Y AD - Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China. FAU - Qu, Zhiyi AU - Qu Z AD - Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China. FAU - Gao, Lei AU - Gao L AD - Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China. FAU - Cui, Tingkai AU - Cui T AD - Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China. FAU - Xiong, Wenjuan AU - Xiong W AD - Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China. FAU - Xi, Wei AU - Xi W AD - Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China. FAU - Zhang, Xin AU - Zhang X AD - Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China. AD - Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environment, Nutrition and Public Health, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China. LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't DEP - 20220808 PL - United States TA - Autism Res JT - Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research JID - 101461858 RN - 0 (Biomarkers) RN - 0 (Environmental Pollutants) RN - 0 (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) SB - IM MH - *Autism Spectrum Disorder/epidemiology MH - *Autistic Disorder MH - Bayes Theorem MH - Biomarkers/urine MH - Case-Control Studies MH - Child MH - China/epidemiology MH - *Environmental Pollutants MH - Humans MH - *Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons/urine OTO - NOTNLM OT - autism spectrum disorder OT - behavioral characteristics OT - case-control study OT - children OT - internal exposure OT - polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon EDAT- 2022/10/12 06:00 MHDA- 2022/10/13 06:00 CRDT- 2022/10/11 05:54 PHST- 2022/05/30 00:00 [received] PHST- 2022/07/25 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2022/10/11 05:54 [entrez] PHST- 2022/10/12 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2022/10/13 06:00 [medline] AID - 10.1002/aur.2788 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Autism Res. 2022 Oct;15(10):1941-1960. doi: 10.1002/aur.2788. Epub 2022 Aug 8.