Early exposure to agricultural pesticides and the occurrence of autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review / Exposição precoce a agrotóxicos de uso agrícola e ocorrência do transtorno do espectro autista: uma revisão sistemática

Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of early exposure to agricultural pesticides and their relationship with autism spectrum disorder. Data source: This systematic review was registered at PROSPERO as CRD42020204842. The subject was systematically analyzed on PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases until April 2021. Only studies with humans with early exposure to agricultural pesticides and diagnosis of autism were included. Exclusion criteria were studies on pesticides for domestic or veterinary use and late exposure. There were no language and time restriction. The quality analysis of the studies used the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Data synthesis: Six case-control studies were included; three of them measured the route of exposure by maternal biomarkers and the others by the residence address. The studies had scores between moderate and high in the quality assessment tool. It was found high rates of association between early exposure to agricultural pesticides and autism and detection limit above the quantification for a sample of polychlorinated biphenyls, hexachlorobenzene, and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene. Conclusions: There is evidence concerning the exposure to agricultural pesticides in early life and the development of the autism spectrum disorder; however, more studies are required to better understand their possible association.

RESUMO Objetivo: Compreender a influência da exposição precoce a agrotóxicos de uso agrícola e sua relação com o transtorno do espectro autista. Fontes de dados: Esta revisão sistemática foi registrada no banco de dados PROSPERO sob número CRD42020204842. Por meio das bases de dados PubMed, Scopus e Web of Science, o assunto foi analisado sistematicamente até abril de 2021. Foram incluídos somente estudos com humanos, sendo critérios de inclusão a exposição precoce a agrotóxicos de uso agrícola e o diagnóstico de autismo e critérios de exclusão agrotóxicos de uso doméstico ou veterinário e exposição tardia. Todos os estudos foram analisados sem restrição de linguagem e tempo. A qualidade dos estudos foi avaliada pela NewCastle Ottawa Scale. Síntese dos dados: No total, seis estudos caso-controle foram incluídos. Três deles mensuraram a exposição pelos biomarcadores maternos e os demais (50%) pelo endereço de moradia. Os trabalhos apresentaram qualidade entre moderada e alta. Encontrou-se alta taxa de associação entre a exposição precoce à agrotóxicos e o autismo e detecção acima do limite de quantificação para amostras de bifenilas policloradas, hexaclorobenzeno e diclorodifenildicloroetileno. Conclusões: Existem evidências sobre a exposição a agrotóxicos de uso agrícola precocemente e o desenvolvimento do transtorno do espectro autista, porém mais pesquisas são necessárias para melhor compreensão da associação.

Early exposure to agricultural pesticides and the occurrence of autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of early exposure to agricultural pesticides and their relationship with autism spectrum disorder. DATA SOURCE: This systematic review was registered at PROSPERO as CRD42020204842. The subject was systematically analyzed on PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases until April 2021. Only studies with humans with early exposure to agricultural pesticides and diagnosis of autism were included. Exclusion criteria were studies on pesticides for domestic or veterinary use and late exposure. There were no language and time restriction. The quality analysis of the studies used the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. DATA SYNTHESIS: Six case-control studies were included; three of them measured the route of exposure by maternal biomarkers and the others by the residence address. The studies had scores between moderate and high in the quality assessment tool. It was found high rates of association between early exposure to agricultural pesticides and autism and detection limit above the quantification for a sample of polychlorinated biphenyls, hexachlorobenzene, and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene. CONCLUSIONS: There is evidence concerning the exposure to agricultural pesticides in early life and the development of the autism spectrum disorder; however, more studies are required to better understand their possible association.

Oral administration of oleuropein and olive leaf extract has cardioprotective effects in rodents: A systematic review.

Oleuropein is a polyphenol found in olive trees that has shown beneficial effects in animal studies and potentially in human health, although few studies have been performed to confirm this hypothesis in the latter population. Previous studies related its antioxidant activity to cardioprotective effects and showed a positive correlation between dose and response. We thus aimed to assess the cardioprotective effect of oleuropein and olive leaf extract in animal experiments. A literature search was conducted in June 2020 in the PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases. The descriptors "oleuropein" and "oleuropein aglycone" identified 12 articles for qualitative synthesis. Risk of bias was assessed by SYRCLE's RoB tool for animal studies. The results demonstrate evidence of a positive association between the administration of oleuropein and olive leaf extract and improvement in outcomes in hypertension, heart failure, myocardial infarction. renal hypertension and diabetes. This review presents a positive effect of oleuropein and olive leaf extract administration on cardiovascular parameters in animal studies.