Daily Early-Life Exposures to Diet Soda and Aspartame Are Associated with Autism in Males: A Case-Control Study

 

Since its introduction, aspartame—the leading sweetener

 in U.S. diet sodas (DS)—

has been reported to cause neurological

problems in some users.

 In prospective studies, the offspring of mothers

 who consumed diet sodas/beverages (DSB) daily during pregnancy experienced increased health problems. 

We hypothesized that gestational/early-life

 exposure to ≥1 DS/day (DSearly) or equivalent aspartame (ASPearly: ≥177 mg/day) increases autism risk. 

The case-control Autism Tooth Fairy 

Study obtained retrospective dietary recalls for DSB and aspartame consumption during pregnancy/breastfeeding from the mothers

 of 235 offspring with autism spectrum disorder (ASD: cases) and 121 neurotypically developing offspring (controls)

 No statistically significant associations were found in females. 

Our findings contribute to the growing literature

 raising concerns about potential offspring harm from maternal DSB/aspartame intake in pregnancy.

Introduction

Over the past 40 years, the prevalence of diagnosed autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the U.S. has dramatically risen [1], 

from fewer than 0.3 per 1000 children 

diagnosed with autism before 1980 [2] to 27.6 per 1000 children 

diagnosed with ASD in 2020 [3]. 

Changes in diagnostic definitions and guidelines and increased testing availability and funding have made major 

contributions to this increase in diagnosed cases; 

under the added impacts of changes in 

dietary, environmental, and other exposures affecting

 the intrauterine environment, 

ASD prevalence has reached unprecedented proportions.

 Males have been disproportionately affected: autism

 prevalence among boys is almost quadruple that among 

girls, and a recent study estimated that approximately 1 in 23 U.S. boys 

aged 8 years or older in 2020 had been diagnosed with ASD [3]. The degree to which ASD diagnoses have risen during this time highlights the potential role of non-genetic influences, including early prenatal exposures to heavy metals, organophosphate pesticides, and other environmental toxins, in offspring autism risk [4].

Ref

Nutrients :

. 2023 Aug 29;15(17):3772. doi: 10.3390/nu15173772

Daily Early-Life Exposures to Diet Soda and Aspartame Are Associated with Autism in Males: A Case-Control Study

Sharon Parten Fowler ^1,*, David Gimeno Ruiz de Porras ^2,3,4, Michael D Swartz ⁵, Paula Stigler Granados ⁶, Lynne Parsons Heilbrun ⁷, Raymond F Palmer ⁸

Editor: Ruggiero Francavilla