Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Sep 9:41:e2021360.
doi: 10.1590/1984-0462/2023/41/2021360. eCollection 2022.

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

Anna Caroline Cristofoli Bertoletti  1 , Kathleen Krüger Peres  1 , Larissa Slongo Faccioli  1 , Marina Camassola Vacci  1 , Isabella Rosa da Mata  1 , Caroline Joana Kuyven  1 , Simone Morelo Dal Bosco  1
Affiliations

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

Anna Caroline Cristofoli Bertoletti et al. Rev Paul Pediatr. .

Abstract
in English, Portuguese

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.

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.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interests

The authors declare there is no conflict of interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flow diagram of the systematic review.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5. ed. Arlington, VA: APA; 2013.
    1. Buescher AV, Cidav Z, Knapp M, Mandell DS. Costs of Autism Spectrum Disorders in the United Kingdom and the United States. JAMA Pediatr. 2014;168:721–728. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2014.210. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Marotta R, Risoleo CM, Messina G, Parisi L, Corotenutto M, Vetri L, et al. The neurochemistry of autism. Brain Sci. 2020;10:163–163. doi: 10.3390/brainsci10030163. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization [homepage on the Internet] ICD-11 for mortality and morbidity statistics. Version: 2019 April. Last Modified; Aug, 2020. [[cited 2021 Apr 10]]. Available from: https://icd.who.int/browse11/l-m/en .
    1. Gardener H, Spiegelman D, Buka SL. Perinatal and neonatal risk factors for autism: a comprehensive meta-analysis. Pediatrics. 2011;128:344–355. doi: 10.1542/peds.2010-1036. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms