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Evolving Understanding of the Relationship Between Mercury Exposure and Autism

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Environmental Heavy Metal Pollution and Effects on Child Mental Development

Part of the book series: NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security ((NAPSC,volume 1))

Abstract

Over the last decade autism and autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) have become an increasing focus of scientific research and public interest. The idea that mercury exposure may play a causative role in autism was first suggested in connection with postnatal exposures to ethylmercury via vaccination. This hypothesis has not been supported by the results of several large epidemiology studies and scientific reviews but nonetheless the notion that mercury in vaccines causes autism has remained fixed in the public mind. Several ecological studies have also suggested that inorganic mercury exposures from environmental (i.e., non-vaccine) sources are correlated with autism prevalence. To better understand some of the limitations of these ecological analyses, and to explore the robustness of the mercury-autism hypothesis, we used data collected for the U.S. State of Texas to examine whether other surrogate exposure measures (e.g., emissions of other chemicals, downwind status from a power plant, local fish consumption advisories) and different analytical approaches led to similar findings. Using multilevel Poisson regression analysis we found that air mercury emissions reports were significantly associated with same year autism prevalence in Texas school districts using data obtained for 2001 and 2002 but that associations were not significant using data from 2003 to 2005. Evaluations using other surrogate exposure variables (i.e., downwind location from coal-fired power plants or existence of mercury related fish consumption advisories) also did not yield statistically significant associations. We did observe that the treatment of censored data had an important effect on the analysis; results which were statistically significant when censored data were handed as zeros became non statistically significant when they were treated as the mid-point of the censored range. This indicates that what is required to clearly answer questions about environmental mercury and autism is a well controlled case-control or cohort study with extensive pre- and post-natal mercury exposure assessment. Government agencies, advocacy groups and mercury emitting industries should all consider supporting such studies so that this contentious health concern can be definitively addressed

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department Health and Nutrition Sciences, Brooklyn College CUNY, 4135 Ingersoll Hall 2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11210, USA

    Thomas A. Lewandowski

  2. Gradient LLC, 600 Stewart Street, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA

    Thomas A. Lewandowski

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  1. Thomas A. Lewandowski
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Correspondence to Thomas A. Lewandowski .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Solar Terrestrial Influences Laboratory, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, G. Bonchev Str. Block 3, Sofia, 1113, Bulgaria

    Lubomir I. Simeonov

  2. of the FY Republic of Macedonia, Department of Water and Communal Hygiene, Institute of Public Health, 50 Divizjia No. 6, Skopje, 1000, Macedonia

    Mihail V. Kochubovski

  3. Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Tzarigradsko Shossee Bul 72, Sofia, 1784, Bulgaria

    Biana G. Simeonova

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Lewandowski, T.A. (2011). Evolving Understanding of the Relationship Between Mercury Exposure and Autism. In: Simeonov, L., Kochubovski, M., Simeonova, B. (eds) Environmental Heavy Metal Pollution and Effects on Child Mental Development. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0253-0_4

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