Unknown

Dataset Information

0

Live-Birth Bias and Observed Associations Between Air Pollution and Autism.


ABSTRACT: A recent analysis found that exposure to air pollution during specific weeks of pregnancy was negatively associated with risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) when mutually adjusted for postnatal air-pollution exposure. In this commentary, we describe 2 possible selection-bias processes that might lead to such results, both related to live-birth bias (i.e., the inevitable restriction of the analyzed sample to live births). The first mechanism is described using a directed acyclic graph and relates to the chance of live birth being a common consequence of both exposure to air pollution and another risk factor of ASD. The second mechanism involves preferential depletion of fetuses susceptible to ASD in the higher air-pollution exposure group. We further discuss the assumptions underlying these processes and their causal structures, their plausibility, and other studies where similar phenomena might have occurred.

SUBMITTER: Raz R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6211245 | biostudies-other | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

altmetric image

Publications

Live-Birth Bias and Observed Associations Between Air Pollution and Autism.

Raz Raanan R   Kioumourtzoglou Marianthi-Anna MA   Weisskopf Marc G MG  

American journal of epidemiology 20181101 11


A recent analysis found that exposure to air pollution during specific weeks of pregnancy was negatively associated with risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) when mutually adjusted for postnatal air-pollution exposure. In this commentary, we describe 2 possible selection-bias processes that might lead to such results, both related to live-birth bias (i.e., the inevitable restriction of the analyzed sample to live births). The first mechanism is described using a directed acyclic graph and rela  ...[more]

Similar Datasets

| S-EPMC3864864 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC7340571 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC6474375 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC5580354 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC7542945 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC5870687 | biostudies-other
| S-EPMC3828611 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC4019010 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC4417295 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC7573694 | biostudies-literature