Abstract
BackgroundThe prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased rapidly in recent years. Environmental factors may play an important role in the pathogenesis of ASD. These factors may include socioeconomic factors, nutritional factors, heavy metal exposure, air pollution, etc. Our aim is to analyze possible environmental factors associated with the severity of ASD.MethodsAll participating children were divided into two groups (mild and moderate/severe) according to the severity of their symptoms, as determined by their Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) scores. The socioeconomic, demographic factors and the nutritional factors that may affect the severity of ASD were included in the logistic regression to analyze whether they were predictors that affected the severity of ASD.ResultsLogistic regression showed that caregivers(P = 0.042), maternal education (P = 0.030), gastrointestinal problems (P = 0.041) and a high serum concentration of lead (P = 0.003) were statistically significantly associated with ASD severity.ConclusionMany environmental factors affect the severity of ASD. We concluded that non-parental caregivers, low maternal education, gastrointestinal problems and high blood lead level maybe predictors that affected the severity of ASD in northeast China.
Highlights
The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased rapidly in recent years
The mild group consisted of 208 boys (83.5%) and 41 girls (16.5%), and the moderate/severe group consisted of 209 boys (79.5%) and 54 girls (20.5%)
Our results showed that non-parental caregivers, low maternal education, gastrointestinal problems and high blood lead levels are predictors related to the severity of autism spectrum disorder in northeast China
Summary
The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased rapidly in recent years. Environmen‐ tal factors may play an important role in the pathogenesis of ASD. These factors may include socioeconomic factors, nutritional factors, heavy metal exposure, air pollution, etc. The prevalence of ASD has increased significantly. This increase is partly due to changes in diagnostic criteria, reductions in the misdiagnosis rate, and increases in the consultation rate, but the. It is suggested that ASD is the consequence of both genetic factors and environmental factors These factors may include nutritional factors, heavy metal exposure, air pollution, socioeconomic factors, etc. These factors may include nutritional factors, heavy metal exposure, air pollution, socioeconomic factors, etc. [1]
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