VitaminA,C,andEandAutismSpectrumDisorders

Background
Autistic disorder: Neurodevelopmental disorder Impairments in social interaction Abnormalities in verbal, and nonverbal communication Restricted, stereotyped interests and behaviors Manifest abnormal development from birth 20-30% experience regression with onset between 18-24 months1 Autism increasing epidemic. Occurs 1/1102 Pathology and contributing factors for autism are poorly understood Males 4 times as likely than females to have autism3 No one gene has shown to be responsible for majority autism cases Studies of environmental factors relate to prenatal origin of autism3 Few studies examined role of A, C, and E as risk/protective factors Previous studies suggest children with autism have higher levels of oxidative stress4 Antioxidant nutrients A, C, and E, help reduce levels of oxidative damage caused by free radicals

Crystal Orozco1, Rebecca J. Schmidt, Ph.D., M.S 2,3 Robin L. Hansen, M.D.3, 4 Irva Hertz-Picciotto, Ph.D., M.P. H. 2,3
1Department 2Department

of Environmental Toxicology, University of California Davis, Ca of Public Health Sciences, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Davis, CA 3Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (M.I.N.D.) Institute, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA 4Department of Pediatrics, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Davis, CA

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CHARGE(ChildhoodAutismRisksfrom GeneticsandEnvironment)
Examining role of A, C, and E through CHARGE Large case-control epidemiologic study. 5 broad classes of exposures of interest: Pesticides Metals Persistent pollutants with toxicity, Medications and other treatment Infections Includes: Developmental assessments Medical information Questionnaire data Biological specimens Families recruited through Regional Centers (RCs) from 2003-2009 Children with autism identified through RCs that contract with the California Department of Developmental Disabilities (DDS) to coordinate services Staff of RCs: contact parents of children with autism, provide information packet, explain how can participate in CHARGE Study Recruited children classified in 3 categories: Autism Developmental delay (DD) but not autism General population Diagnoses of autism: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (n=478) Delayed Development (DD) (n=139) Typically developing (TD) (n=303) Confirmed at UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute using standardized clinical assessments Information on frequency and brands consumed 3 months before, throughout pregnancy, and during breastfeeding collected through extensive parental interview of: Cereals Prenatal vitamins Multivitamins Nutrient-specific vitamins

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UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute15

Example of A,C,E input data

Progress
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NowCalculating A, C, and E amounts in each: Brand of cereal Multi-vitamin Pre-natal vitamin Nutrient-specific vitamins. Other Supplements Next will quantify average daily amount of each for each mother Compare maternal intake of each vitamin between cases and controls for each month Goal: Determine whether supplemental vitamins A, C, and E during pre- and perinatal period associated with risk for ASDs

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FurtherDiscussion
Limitations: Potential recall bias Inaccuracy No use of food sources except supplements and cereal to calculate A, C, E averages Strengths: Large sample size, uniform collection, detailed brands and specific information Future directions: Follow-up in prospective MARBLES (Markers For Autism Risk in BabiesLearning Early Signs) study to examine A, C, E from food records and supplements to obtain further accuracy
References Available Upon Request