Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26198445›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental health : a global access science source2015

Prenatal mercury exposure, autism, and developmental delay, using pharmacokinetic combination of newborn blood concentrations and questionnaire data: a case control study.

Stephen J McKean, Scott M Bartell, Robin L Hansen, Gry H Barfod, Peter G Green, Irva Hertz-Picciotto

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental health : a global access science source, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.5field-weighted citation impact, top 13% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Maternal Dietary Factors and the Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Systematic Review of Existing Evidence.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2020
    Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Associations of Metabolic Genes (International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Environmental influence on neurodevelopmental disorders: Potential association of heavy metal exposure and autism.Journal of trace elements in medicine and biology : organ of the Society for Minerals and Trace Elements (GMS) · 2020
    Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Stephen J McKeanUniversity of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA. sjmckean@ucdavis.edu.
Scott M BartellProgram in Public Health and Department of Statistics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA. sbartell@uci.edu.
Robin L HansenDepartment of Pediatrics, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA. robin.hansen@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.
Gry H BarfodInterdisciplinary Center for Plasma Mass Spectrometry, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA. robin.hansen@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.
Peter G GreenDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA. pggreen@ucdavis.edu.
Irva Hertz-PicciottoMIND Institute, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA. ihp@phs.ucdavis.edu.
University of California, Davis · USUniversity of California, Irvine · US

Funding

THE CHARGE STUDY: CHILDHOOD AUTISM RISKS FROM GENETICS AND THE ENVIRONMENT - ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPLEMENTR01ES015359 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI HERTZ-PICCIOTTO, IRVA · 2007 to 2019
$13.8M
UC Davis Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCEH)P01ES011269 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS · PI VAN DE WATER, JUDY A. · 2001 to 2018
$12.5M
NIEHS NIH HHS 1 R01 ES015359NIEHS NIH HHS 2 R01 ES015359NIEHS NIH HHS P01 ES011269NIEHS NIH HHS P01 ES11269NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES015359
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMethylmercury (MeHg), known for well over a century as a neurotoxin in adults, has more recently been studied for potential detrimental effects during early brain development. While several studies have estimated mercury exposure, they usually rely on either a single biomarker or questionnaire data, each of which has limitations. The goal of this paper was to develop a toxicokinetic model that incorporates both biomarker and questionnaire data to estimate the cumulative exposure to MeHg through seafood consumption using data collected from the Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE) study.

methodsWe utilized a previously described discrete-time model that estimates blood MeHg concentration given a piecewise-constant ingestion rate and single-compartment pharmacokinetics. We measured newborn bloodspot Hg concentrations and obtained information pertaining to maternal fish consumption using a questionnaire. Using MeHg concentration estimates from the toxicokinetic model, cumulative MeHg exposure was estimated in children with autism, children with developmental delay, and typically developing children. Median estimated cumulative MeHg was compared among diagnostic groups using the Kruskal-Wallis Test. Multinomial logistic regression models were constructed to assess the association between cumulative MeHg concentration and the risk of autism and developmental delay (vs. typical development).

resultsThe estimated average MeHg concentration of for all fish species consumed by mothers was 42 ppb. Median cumulative MeHg over gestation was similar across diagnostic groups (p-values raged from 0.91 to 0.98). After adjusting for potential confounding, we found no association between cumulative MeHg exposure and the risk of autism (OR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.95, 1.12) or developmental delay (OR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.89, 1.13).

conclusionsThe toxicokinetic model described in this paper yielded fish MeHg concentration estimates that are consistent with fish species containing lower levels of MeHg. Overall, cumulative MeHg exposure does not appear to detectably elevate the risk of autism or developmental delay. Based on the regression standard error for the association between ASD and TD, we would have reported statistical significance for an adjusted odds ratio of 1.09 or larger. This method can easily be extended to other epidemiologic studies in which there is a biomarker measurement and questionnaire data regarding exposure.

Indexed as

AdultAnimalsAutistic DisorderBiomarkersCaliforniaCase-Control StudiesChild DevelopmentChild, PreschoolDevelopmental DisabilitiesEpidemiologic StudiesFemaleFood ContaminationHumansMaleMaternal ExposureMercuryBiomarkersMercuryMethylmercury Compounds

Identifiers

PMID26198445
PMCPMC4508765
OpenAlexW1761787050

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.