A new study discovered a somewhat increased risk of autistic spectrum condition in infants born to pregnant women exposed to greater levels of lithium in tap water, but experts caution that this correlation does not prove a direct link between the two.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one in every 36 children in the United States is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Could Pregnant Women Consume Lithium?
Compared to the lowest quartile of reported lithium concentrations — the 25th percentile — the second and third quartiles were associated with a 24 to 26 percent increase in autism risk, according to a study published on Monday in JAMA Pediatrics.
While lithium’s mood-stabilizing properties have made it a popular therapy option for depression and bipolar illness, scientists have long debated whether pregnant women can consume the metal safely, according to Ritz senior author Beate Ritz, a professor of neurology at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, and her colleagues. They claimed that there is accumulating evidence linking lithium to an increased risk of miscarriage, as well as heart problems and deformities in newborns.
Ritz, who studies how environmental exposures influence neurodevelopment disorders, said she chose to investigate a possible link between lithium and autism risk after discovering scant studies on the subject.
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Increased Lithium Levels Linked To Higher Risk Of Autism
Using a countrywide database of individuals with psychiatric problems, the researchers selected children born between 1997 and 2013 and compared them to 63,681 youngsters who did not have an autism diagnosis.
According to the researchers, as lithium levels rose, so did the risk of being diagnosed with autism. In comparison to the lowest quartile of observed lithium levels (the 25th percentile), lithium levels in the second and third quartiles were related to a 24-26% increased risk of autism. The risk was 46% higher in the top quartile than in the lowest.
When the data was broken down by autism subtypes, the researchers discovered a similar association between elevated lithium levels and a higher risk of autism diagnosis. They also discovered that the link between lithium levels and autism risk was slightly stronger in urban regions than in smaller cities and rural locations.
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