Faculty, Staff and Student Publications
Publication Date
8-29-2023
Journal
Nutrients
Abstract
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). The exposure odds ratios (ORs) for DSearly and ASPearly were computed for autism, ASD, and the non-regressive conditions of each. Among males, the DSearly odds were tripled for autism (OR = 3.1; 95% CI: 1.02, 9.7) and non-regressive autism (OR = 3.5; 95% CI: 1.1, 11.1); the ASPearly odds were even higher: OR = 3.4 (95% CI: 1.1, 10.4) and 3.7 (95% CI: 1.2, 11.8), respectively (p < 0.05 for each). The ORs for non-regressive ASD in males were almost tripled but were not statistically significant: DSearly OR = 2.7 (95% CI: 0.9, 8.4); ASPearly OR = 2.9 (95% CI: 0.9, 8.8). 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.
Keywords
Female, Male, Pregnancy, Humans, Aspartame, Autistic Disorder, Case-Control Studies, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Retrospective Studies, Prospective Studies, Diet, autism, autism spectrum disorder, pregnancy, diet, diet soda, diet beverages, aspartame, non-nutritive sweeteners, artificial sweeteners, high-intensity sweeteners
DOI
10.3390/nu15173772
PMID
37686804
PMCID
PMC10490529
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
8-29-2023
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Post-print
Published Open-Access
yes
Included in
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Commons, Mental and Social Health Commons, Public Health Commons