2023-10-12 06:49:49
In this study, researchers from Rowan University and Rutgers University in the United States examined three groups of children: 66 children with autism, 46 children with ADHD and 37 neurotypical children (without any particular disorder). Their analyzes focused on children’s glucuronidation process, a chemical process used by the body to remove toxins from the blood through urine.
On the same subject
Endocrine disruptor: bisphenol A found in 92% of the European population
Bisphenol A present in the urine of 92% of adults in Europe. These are the alarming results of a human biomonitoring study carried out by the European Environment Agency (EEA) made public on September 14. Bisphenol A (BPA) is this chemical compound widely used in the manufacture of plastics and resins and present in many everyday objects. If bisphenol A has been banned in France since 2015 in food packaging and baby bottles, the rules are much more flexible in other European countries. It is found in cans, water bottles and jugs, food packaging and containers, and even drinking water pipes.
Accumulation of bisphenol A in tissues
Their results reveal that children with ASD and ADHD fail to eliminate Bisphenol A and another similar compound called diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) as effectively as other children. As the substances accumulate in their bodies, they might in the long term further expose these children to their toxic effects.
In the case of Bisphenol A, the difference is even very significant: the elimination efficiency is reduced by approximately 11% for children with ASD and by 17% for children with ADHD, compared to the group of neurotypical children.
Environment and genetics
According to the researchers, genetic mutations are at the origin of this difficulty in eliminating Bisphenol A. A specificity which exposes these children to the risk of damage in terms of the development and functioning of neurons.
Previous research has established that autism spectrum disorder and ADHD are caused by a combination of genetic and environmental influences. This new study brings together the two factors in an interdependent manner. However, scientists remain cautious: not all children with a neurodevelopmental disorder have difficulty eliminating Bisphenol A, so other factors also come into play.
Work continues to identify how exactly ASD and ADHD develop in people – whether in utero before birth for example, or later in life – because the data is not sufficient to formally demonstrate that the Exposure to Bisphenol A causes either of these disorders.
Further research is needed
“There is ample epidemiological evidence of a relationship between neurodevelopmental disorders and environmental pollutants such as plastics,” the researchers write, but “it is unclear how significant neurodevelopmental disorders due to plastics are in the overall appearance of these disorders”.
“They must represent a significant proportion, otherwise they would not have been so easy to detect in a moderately sized metabolic study such as this study,” he says.
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