Associação entre a poluição ambiental e a incidência do transtorno do espectro autista : uma revisão sistemática

Abstract

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), also known as autism, is a heterogeneous and highly hereditary neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by clinical manifestations, such as deficiencies in social communication, sensory anomalies, varying levels of intellectual disability and repetitive behaviors. ASD is multifactorial and its incidence has increased significantly in recent years, suggesting that environmental risk factors, such as pollution, may be related to this occurrence. It is a systematic review, followed by a meta-analysis, whose objective was to verify the association between exposure to environmental pollutants and the incidence of ASD. The databases consulted were MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, SciELO, CINAHL, LILACS, COCHRANE CENTRAL, Web of Science and gray literature, investigated until January 2020. Cohort studies that provided data on exposure to environmental pollutants were included in the research, and ASD, in children aged 0 to 18 years. For the meta-analysis calculations, the MetaXL 5.3 program was used. The systematic review included 10 studies, which totaled 844,225 individuals, and the meta-analysis 7 studies, totaling 831,173 individuals. The sample consisted of individuals from different countries, such as the United States, Taiwam, Korea, Sweden, Spain, Canada, the Netherlands and Italy. The analysis showed that children exposed to higher levels of environmental pollution have a higher risk of developing ASD (RR: 1.08, 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.12; I2: 76%) than those exposed to minors levels. The research allowed to identify possible associations between environmental pollutants and ASD, assisting in research on the search and understanding of the causality of a chronic non-communicable disease with exponential incidence in children. Knowing the reasons that provide this increase or its probability of occurrence, enables the effective insertion of preventive public policies and comprehensive child health care.