Arts and Sciences, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL, USA.
Department of Biology, Chemistry & Environmental Sciences, American University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 26666, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Rev Environ Health. 2020 Jul 14;35(4):359-369. doi: 10.1515/reveh-2020-0025. Print 2020 Nov 18.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been experiencing an increase in global prevalence in recent decades. While many factors could account for this reality, certain environmental links have been shown to contribute to ASD development and etiology. The Middle East has had relatively little published research on ASD etiology although statistics indicate that ASD affects 1 in 146 births in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This review therefore aims to examine potential causes of ASD within the UAE specifically, focusing on environmental links that may contribute to the rise in ASD cases in this population. Significantly, suboptimal breastfeeding practices, high levels of vitamin D deficiency, increased exposure to pollution, pesticides and heavy metals within the UAE may all be potentially important contributing factors to ASD in this population. Our findings support the notion that there are key links between various environmental factors and ASD prevalence in the UAE. The lack of knowledge and much research on ASD within the UAE deeply necessitates further studies on its etiology as it poses a serious public health challenge in the region and globally.
自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 在最近几十年中在全球的患病率呈上升趋势。虽然有许多因素可以解释这一现实，但某些环境联系已被证明与 ASD 的发展和病因有关。尽管统计数据显示，自闭症在阿联酋的出生率为每 146 例中就有 1 例，但中东在自闭症病因方面的研究相对较少。因此，本综述旨在专门研究阿联酋自闭症的潜在病因，重点关注可能导致该人群自闭症病例增加的环境联系。值得注意的是，阿联酋的母乳喂养实践不理想、维生素 D 缺乏症高发、接触污染、农药和重金属的水平增加，这些都可能是该人群自闭症的重要潜在因素。我们的研究结果支持了这样一种观点，即各种环境因素与阿联酋自闭症的流行之间存在着重要联系。阿联酋在自闭症方面缺乏知识和大量研究，这就迫切需要对其病因进行进一步研究，因为这在该地区乃至全球都是一个严重的公共卫生挑战。
