ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PARENTAL OCCUPATIONAL SOLVENTS EXPOSURES AND AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

Introduction: Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is a heterogenous group of conditions for which there is no single explaining theory, however, might be attributed to many risk factors. These conditions affect brain development, communication, and social interactions. Parents’ age, smoking status, health conditions, medications intake, type of work, and occupational exposures represent an ongoing area of research as risk factors of ASD. Aim of Work: To study the association between parental occupational solvents exposures and the occurrence of ASD in their children. Materials and Methods: This is a case control study that was performed in Psychiatry and Children’s outpatient clinic, Mansoura University Hospital including 75 cases with ASD and 75 controls attending for other health problems.Both groups were subjected to a structured questionnaire including personal and medical histories of the study participants and their parents, pregnancy related data, and parental occupational history. Data were collected through a face-to-face interview with the children’s caregivers. Results: Paternal age, smoking, manual work, chemical, and solvents exposures were independent predictors of ASD (OR = 1.94, 2.13, 2.28, 2.32, and 4.44 respectively). Maternal work duration three years or more was positively related to ASD (OR = 12.92). These associations were statistically significant. Conclusion and Recommendations: Parental occupational exposure to chemicals and solvents in the 12 months before and during the index pregnancy are among the risk factors of ASD on bivariate analysis. Effective environmental control and personal protective measures are necessary to decrease the risk of ASD occurrence