In utero pyrethroid pesticide exposure in relation to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental outcomes at 3 years in the MARBLES longitudinal cohort.

Background: We assessed the relationships between prenatal pyrethroid pesticide exposure and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) or non-typical development (non-TD) at 3 years.

Methods: Participants were mother-child pairs (n = 201) in the MARBLES (Markers of Autism Risk in Babies-Learning Early Signs) cohort. Because familial recurrence risk is high, MARBLES enrolls pregnant women with a family history of ASD.

Prenatal phenol and paraben exposures in relation to child neurodevelopment including autism spectrum disorders in the MARBLES study.

Background: Environmental phenols and parabens are endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) with the potential to affect child neurodevelopment including autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Our aim was to assess whether exposure to environmental phenols and parabens during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of clinical ASD or other nontypical development (non-TD).

Methods: This study included mother-child pairs (N = 207) from the Markers of Autism Risks in Babies - Learning Early Signs (MARBLES) Cohort Study with urinary phenol and paraben metabolites analyzed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) from repeated pregnancy urine samples.

Self-reported pregnancy exposures and placental DNA methylation in the MARBLES prospective autism sibling study.

Human placenta is a fetal-derived tissue that offers a unique sample of epigenetic and environmental exposures present in utero. In the MARBLES prospective pregnancy study of high-risk younger siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), pregnancy and environmental factors collected by maternal interviews were examined as predictors of placental DNA methylation, including partially methylated domains (PMDs), an embryonic feature of the placental methylome. DNA methylation data from MethylC-seq analysis of 47 placentas of children clinically diagnosed at 3 years with ASD or typical development using standardized assessments were examined in relation to: child's gestational age, birth-weight, and diagnosis; maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index, smoking, education, parity, height, prenatal vitamin and folate intake; home ownership; pesticides professionally applied to lawns or gardens or inside homes, pet flea/tick pouches, collars, or soaps/shampoos used in the 3 months prior to or during pregnancy.