Prenatal exposure to tailpipe and non-tailpipe tracers of particulate matter pollution and autism spectrum disorders

Md Mostafijur Rahman; Sarah A. Carter; Jane C. Lin; Ting Chow; Xin Yu; Mayra P. Martinez; Pat Levitt; Zhanghua Chen; Jiu-Chiuan Chen; Daniel Rud; Juan Pablo Lewinger; Sandrah P. Eckel; Joel Schwartz; Frederick W. Lurmann; Michael J. Kleeman; Rob McConnell; Anny H. Xiang

Environment International (Jan 2023)

Prenatal exposure to tailpipe and non-tailpipe tracers of particulate matter pollution and autism spectrum disorders

Md Mostafijur Rahman,
Sarah A. Carter,
Jane C. Lin,
Ting Chow,
Xin Yu,
Mayra P. Martinez,
Pat Levitt,
Zhanghua Chen,
Jiu-Chiuan Chen,
Daniel Rud,
Juan Pablo Lewinger,
Sandrah P. Eckel,
Joel Schwartz,
Frederick W. Lurmann,
Michael J. Kleeman,
Rob McConnell,
Anny H. Xiang

Affiliations

Md Mostafijur Rahman: Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Sarah A. Carter: Department of Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, CA, USA
Jane C. Lin: Department of Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, CA, USA
Ting Chow: Department of Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, CA, USA
Xin Yu: Spatial Science Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Mayra P. Martinez: Department of Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, CA, USA
Pat Levitt: Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, Program in Developmental Neuroscience and Neurogenetics, The Saban Research Institute, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Zhanghua Chen: Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Jiu-Chiuan Chen: Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Daniel Rud: Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Juan Pablo Lewinger: Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Sandrah P. Eckel: Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Joel Schwartz: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Frederick W. Lurmann: Sonoma Technology, Inc, Petaluma, CA, USA
Michael J. Kleeman: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
Rob McConnell: Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Anny H. Xiang: Department of Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, CA, USA; Corresponding author.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 171
p. 107736

Abstract

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Background: Traffic-related air pollution exposure is associated with increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is unknown whether carbonaceous material from vehicular tailpipe emissions or redox-active non-tailpipe metals, eg. from tire and brake wear, are responsible. We assessed ASD associations with fine particulate matter (PM2.5) tracers of tailpipe (elemental carbon [EC] and organic carbon [OC]) and non-tailpipe (copper [Cu]; iron [Fe] and manganese [Mn]) sources during pregnancy in a large cohort. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 318,750 children born in Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC) hospitals during 2001–2014, followed until age 5. ASD cases were identified by ICD codes. Monthly estimates of PM2.5 and PM2.5 constituents EC, OC, Cu, Fe, and Mn with 4 km spatial resolution were obtained from a source-oriented chemical transport model. These exposures and NO2 were assigned to each maternal address during pregnancy, and associations with ASD were assessed using Cox regression models adjusted for covariates. PM constituent effect estimates were adjusted for PM2.5 and NO2 to assess independent effects. To distinguish ASD risk associated with non-tailpipe from tailpipe sources, the associations with Cu, Fe, and Mn were adjusted for EC and OC, and vice versa. Results: There were 4559 children diagnosed with ASD. In single-pollutant models, increased ASD risk was associated with gestational exposures to tracers of both tailpipe and non-tailpipe emissions. The ASD hazard ratios (HRs) per inter-quartile increment of exposure) for EC, OC, Cu, Fe, and Mn were 1.11 (95% CI: 1.06–1.16), 1.09 (95% CI: 1.04–1.15), 1.09 (95% CI: 1.04–1.13), 1.14 (95% CI: 1.09–1.20), and 1.17 (95% CI: 1.12–1.22), respectively. Estimated effects of Cu, Fe, and Mn (reflecting non-tailpipe sources) were largely unchanged in two-pollutant models adjusting for PM2.5, NO2, EC or OC. In contrast, ASD associations with EC and OC were markedly attenuated by adjustment for non-tailpipe sources. Conclusion: Results suggest that non-tailpipe emissions may contribute to ASD. Implications are that reducing tailpipe emissions, especially from vehicles with internal combustion engines, may not eliminate ASD associations with traffic-related air pollution.

Published in Environment International

ISSN: 0160-4120 (Print)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Geography. Anthropology. Recreation: Environmental sciences
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environment-international

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