# Autism and Prenatal Endocrine Disruptors (A-PED)

> **NIH NIH R01** · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · 2020 · $579,927

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Autism and spectrum disorders (ASD) are serious and debilitating neurodevelopmental disorders that incur
substantial suffering for patients and major challenges to our health care system. It is now estimated that ASD
affects about 1 in 68 children, with a male:female ratio of 4:1. Both genetic and environmental factors
contribute to ASD, but environmental factors have been understudied. Because environmental factors are
potentially modifiable they should be a research priority. This effort has been hampered by the challenges of
acquiring accurate and relevant exposure measures in large, unbiased, epidemiologic cohorts.
Among the many environmental exposures to which humans are exposed, endocrine disrupting chemicals
(EDs) have perhaps the best-known effects on neurodevelopment in pediatric populations. Several of these
chemicals, particularly when exposure is prenatal, have been linked to autism-related phenotypes, and sex-
differences in these associations have been documented. EDs have been shown to affect GABA and
glutamate neurotransmission, which have prominent roles in ASD. Therefore, EDs are promising candidates as
environmental triggers for ASD. To our knowledge, no prior study has been able to robustly link prenatal ED
exposure to ASD.
The goal of this application is to determine whether prenatal exposure to five classes of EDs impacts ASD risk.
To achieve this, we will use stored samples from a serum biobank in southern Sweden and link these to
population-based registries that include individual-level perinatal, diagnostic, medical, and demographic
information (117,318 births in the years 1998-2007). We will randomly select and validate 600 ASD cases
(oversampling females to include 200 females, 400 males) and 600 controls with similar sex and birth year
distributions. By measuring concentrations of 38 EDs in five chemical classes in maternal serum samples we
will address the following three integrated specific aims: First, determine the associations between ASD risk
and prenatal serum concentration of our target EDs and their mixtures; Second, determine whether gender
modifies sensitivity to prenatal ED exposure resulting in sex-dimorphic ED-ASD associations; Third, determine
whether concentrations of EDs, singly and in combination, contribute to differences in ASD phenotype and
their severity.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10006730
- **Project number:** 5R01ES026904-05
- **Recipient organization:** ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI
- **Principal Investigator:** ABRAHAM REICHENBERG
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $579,927
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-09-30 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10006730

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10006730, Autism and Prenatal Endocrine Disruptors (A-PED) (5R01ES026904-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10006730. Licensed CC0.

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