ArticleJournal of neurodevelopmental disorders2020
Maternal immune response and air pollution exposure during pregnancy: insights from the Early Markers for Autism (EMA) study.
Article in Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 66 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evidence of susceptibility to autism risks associated with early life ambient air pollution: A systematic review.Environmental research · 2022Pooled it
- Air pollution and adverse birth outcomes: a narrative review of epidemiological and mechanistic findings.Journal of environmental health science & engineering · 2026Review
- Prenatal exposure to organophosphate ester flame retardants and plasticizers and maternal immune responses in three ECHO cohorts.Environmental research · 2026Article
- Maternal Prenatal Supplements Intake and Dietary Sources and Their Relation to Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Population of Bangladesh.Public health challenges · 2026Article
- Maternal exposure to fine particulate matter and autism spectrum disorder in children: population based case-control study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Prevalence of Developmental, Psychiatric, and Neurologic Conditions in Older Siblings of Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder: Study to Explore Early Development.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Article
- Redox System Dysfunction as a Key Mechanism in Autism Spectrum Disorder Pathogenesis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Prenatal exposure to air pollution affects autophagy, senescence and remodelling proteins in cord blood.ERJ open research · 2025Article
- Air Pollution and Autism Spectrum Disorder: Unveiling Multipollutant Risks and Sociodemographic Influences in California.Environmental health perspectives · 2025Article
- Relationship Between Autism Spectrum Disorder and Maternal Exposure to Passive Smoking and Environmental Factors: A Case-Control Study in Bangladesh.Health science reports · 2025Article
- AssessingFrontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Short term air pollution exposure during pregnancy and associations with maternal immune markers.Environmental research · 2024Article
- Ambient air pollution and adverse birth outcomes: A review of underlying mechanisms.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2024Review
- Socio-economic status and autism spectrum disorder: A case-control study in Bangladesh.Preventive medicine reports · 2024Article
- Mixture of air pollution, brominated flame retardants, polychlorinated biphenyls, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and organochlorine pesticides in relation to vitamin D concentrations in pregnancy.Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987) · 2024Article
- Characterizing the neuroimmune environment of offspring in a novel model of maternal allergic asthma and particulate matter exposure.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2023Article
- Prenatal air pollution, maternal immune activation, and autism spectrum disorder.Environment international · 2023Article
- Inflammation and the Potential Implication of Macrophage-Microglia Polarization in Human ASD: An Overview.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Maternal circulating miRNAs contribute to negative pregnancy outcomes by altering placental transcriptome and fetal vascular dynamics.PloS one · 2023Article
- Maternal imprinting and determinants of neonates' immune function in the SEPAGES mother-child cohort.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPerinatal exposure to air pollution and immune system dysregulation are two factors consistently associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental outcomes. However, little is known about how air pollution may influence maternal immune function during pregnancy.
objectivesTo assess the relationship between mid-gestational circulating levels of maternal cytokines/chemokines and previous month air pollution exposure across neurodevelopmental groups, and to assess whether cytokines/chemokines mediate the relationship between air pollution exposures and risk of ASD and/or intellectual disability (ID) in the Early Markers for Autism (EMA) study.
methodsEMA is a population-based, nested case-control study which linked archived maternal serum samples collected during weeks 15-19 of gestation for routine prenatal screening, birth records, and Department of Developmental Services (DDS) records. Children receiving DDS services for ASD without intellectual disability (ASD without ID; n = 199), ASD with ID (ASD with ID; n = 180), ID without ASD (ID; n = 164), and children from the general population (GP; n = 414) with no DDS services were included in this analysis. Serum samples were quantified for 22 cytokines/chemokines using Luminex multiplex analysis technology. Air pollution exposure for the month prior to maternal serum collection was assigned based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality System data using the maternal residential address reported during the prenatal screening visit.
resultsPrevious month air pollution exposure and mid-gestational maternal cytokine and chemokine levels were significantly correlated, though weak in magnitude (ranging from - 0.16 to 0.13). Ten pairs of mid-pregnancy immune markers and previous month air pollutants were significantly associated within one of the child neurodevelopmental groups, adjusted for covariates (p < 0.001). Mid-pregnancy air pollution was not associated with any neurodevelopmental outcome. IL-6 remained associated with ASD with ID even after adjusting for air pollution exposure.
conclusionThis study suggests that maternal immune activation is associated with risk for neurodevelopmental disorders. Furthermore, that prenatal air pollution exposure is associated with small, but perhaps biologically relevant, effects on maternal immune system function during pregnancy. Additional studies are needed to better evaluate how prenatal exposure to air pollution affects the trajectory of maternal immune activation during pregnancy, if windows of heightened susceptibility can be identified, and how these factors influence neurodevelopment of the offspring.
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