Increased risk of toxicity found in children with autism and ADHD: ScienceAlert

Number of people diagnosed autism spectrum disorder ( Atopic dermatitis) I attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD) has increased rapidly in recent decades, and research continues to focus on the factors influencing these conditions.

A study published in 2023 found that there are differences in how children deal with problems autism or ADHD remove a common plastic additive, bisphenol A (BPA), compared to neurotypical children.

BPA is used in many plastic and plastic manufacturing processes and can also be found in food and drink cans. However, previous research he also linked it to health problems involving hormonal disorders, including breasts cancer and infertility.

Scientists from Rowan University and Rutgers University in the US looked at three groups of children: 66 with autism, 46 with ADHD and 37 neurotypical children. In particular, they analyzed the process glucuronidationa chemical process used by the body to remove toxins from the blood through urine.

They found that children with ASD and ADHD were unable to remove BPA and another similar compound called diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) with the same effectiveness as other children, which may lead to longer exposure to their toxic effects.

“Detoxification of these two plasticizers is impaired in children with ASD and ADHD” he wrote researchers in the published article. “As a result, their tissues are more exposed to the effects of these two plasticizers.”

Only in the case of BPA there was a difference statistically significant however: effectiveness decreased by approximately 11 percent for children with ASD and 17 percent for children with ADHD compared to children in the control group.

Scientists believe that gene mutations in some people mean BPA cannot be removed as well as it should, meaning the substance remains in the body. This could potentially cause damage to the range neuronal development and action.

Conditions such as ASD and ADHD exist I thought this concerned a combination of genetic and environmental influences, and this new study combines both. But that’s only part of the story – not every child with neurodevelopmental disorders had trouble excreting BPA, so other factors come into play.

Work is ongoing to define exactly what ASD and ADHD are develop in people – whether in the womb before birth or later in life, for example – because the data is not enough to show whether exposure to BPA causes either disorder.

“There is an extensive collection epidemiological evidence for the relationship between neurodevelopmental disorders and environmental pollutants such as plasticizers”, researchers he wrote.

“It is unknown how important plasticizer-induced neurodevelopmental impairment is to the overall occurrence of these disorders, but it must constitute a significant proportion, otherwise it would not be as easy to detect in a moderately sized metabolic study such as this study.”

The study was published in PLOS ONE.

A version of this article was first published in October 2023.