Abstract
BackgroundUrinary mercury concentrations are used in research exploring mercury exposure. Some theorists have proposed that autism is caused by mercury toxicity. We set out to test whether mercury concentrations in the urine of children with autism were significantly increased or decreased compared to controls or siblings.MethodsBlinded cohort analyses were carried out on the urine of 56 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) compared to their siblings (n = 42) and a control sample of children without ASD in mainstream (n = 121) and special schools (n = 34).ResultsThere were no statistically significant differences in creatinine levels, in uncorrected urinary mercury levels or in levels of mercury corrected for creatinine, whether or not the analysis is controlled for age, gender and amalgam fillings.ConclusionsThis study lends no support for the hypothesis of differences in urinary mercury excretion in children with autism compared to other groups. Some of the results, however, do suggest further research in the area may be warranted to replicate this in a larger group and with clear measurement of potential confounding factors.
Highlights
Some authors have been concerned that mercury-based preservatives in certain vaccinations [1], mercury in maternal dental fillings [2], or childhood mercury exposure from a range of environmental sources [3] may affect the brains of children, leading to autism in some individuals
Unlike other studies of urinary mercury in autism we examined ordinary, non-treatment levels of mercury and compared them to three different control groups; mainstream schoolchildren (n = 115), children from special schools (n = 28) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) siblings (n = 40)
Samples of urine were collected from children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), ASD siblings, mainstream control children and special school control children
Summary
Some authors have been concerned that mercury-based preservatives in certain vaccinations [1], mercury in maternal dental fillings [2], or childhood mercury exposure from a range of environmental sources [3] may affect the brains of children, leading to autism in some individuals. This has arisen in the context of studies of neurological damage from environmental mercury or methylmercury poisoning [4], [5], and speculation as to the effect of ethylmercury in thimerosal-based vaccines [6]. We set out to test whether mercury concentrations in the urine of children with autism were significantly increased or decreased compared to controls or siblings
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