A comparison of urinary mercury between children with autism spectrum disorders and control children.
PLoS One
; 7(2): e29547, 2012.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-22355303
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Urinary mercury concentrations are used in research exploring mercury exposure. Some theorists have proposed that autism is caused by mercury toxicity. We set out to test whether mercury concentrations in the urine of children with autism were significantly increased or decreased compared to controls or siblings.METHODS:
Blinded cohort analyses were carried out on the urine of 56 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) compared to their siblings (nâ=â42) and a control sample of children without ASD in mainstream (nâ=â121) and special schools (nâ=â34).RESULTS:
There were no statistically significant differences in creatinine levels, in uncorrected urinary mercury levels or in levels of mercury corrected for creatinine, whether or not the analysis is controlled for age, gender and amalgam fillings.CONCLUSIONS:
This study lends no support for the hypothesis of differences in urinary mercury excretion in children with autism compared to other groups. Some of the results, however, do suggest further research in the area may be warranted to replicate this in a larger group and with clear measurement of potential confounding factors.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Transtornos Globais do Desenvolvimento Infantil
/
Mercúrio
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
/
Incidence_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
PLoS One
Assunto da revista:
CIENCIA
/
MEDICINA
Ano de publicação:
2012
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Reino Unido