Metal and essential element concentrations during pregnancy and associations with autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children

Background Prenatal exposure to toxic metals or variations in maternal levels of essential elements during pregnancy may be a risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in offspring. Objectives We investigated whether maternal levels of toxic metals and essential elements measured in mid-pregnancy, individually and as mixtures, were associated with childhood diagnosis of ADHD or ASD. Methods This study is based on the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study and included 705 ADHD cases, 397 ASD cases and 1034 controls. Cases were identified through linkage with the Norwegian Patient Registry. Maternal concentrations of 11 metals/elements were measured in blood at week 17 of gestation; cadmium; cesium; cobalt; copper; lead; magnesium; manganese; selenium; zinc; total arsenic; and total mercury. Multivariable adjusted logistic regression models were used to examine associations between quartile levels of individual metals/elements and outcomes. We also investigated non-linear associations using restricted cubic spline models. The joint effects of the metal/element mixture on ASD and ADHD diagnoses were estimated using a quantile-based g-computation approach. Results For ASD, we identified positive associations (increased risks) in the second quartile of arsenic [OR = 1.77 (CI: 1.26, 2.49)] and the fourth quartiles of cadmium and manganese [OR = 1.57 (CI: 1.07 2.31); OR = 1.84 (CI: 1.30, 2.59)], respectively. In addition, there were negative associations between cesium, copper, mercury, and zinc and ASD. For ADHD, we found increased risk in the fourth quartiles of cadmium and magnesium [OR = 1.59 (CI: 1.15, 2.18); [OR = 1.42 (CI: 1.06, 1.91)]. There were also some negative associations, among others with mercury. In addition, we identified non-linear associations between ASD and arsenic, mercury, magnesium, and lead, and between ADHD and arsenic, copper, manganese, and mercury. There were no significant findings in the mixture approach analyses. Conclusion Results from the present study show several associations between levels of metals and elements during gestation and ASD and ADHD in children. The most notable ones involved arsenic, cadmium, copper, mercury, manganese, magnesium, and lead. Our results suggest that even population levels of these compounds may have negative impacts on neurodevelopment. As we observed mainly similarities among the metals’ and elements’ impact on ASD and ADHD, it could be that the two disorders share some neurochemical and neurodevelopmental pathways. The results warrant further investigation and replication, as well as studies of combined effects of metals/elements and mechanistic underpinnings.