Banca de DEFESA: MAIARA SILVANA SALGADO BATISTA

Uma banca de DEFESA de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
DISCENTE : MAIARA SILVANA SALGADO BATISTA
DATA : 14/12/2019
HORA: 09:00
LOCAL: sala 319- unidade Amazônia
TÍTULO:

Exposure to mercury in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the city of Santarém, Pará. 

PALAVRAS-CHAVES:

Autism, children, mercury, Neurotoxicity, environmental exposure.

PÁGINAS: 60
GRANDE ÁREA: Outra
ÁREA: Multidisciplinar
RESUMO:

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurological disorder present since early childhood, leading to deficits in the areas of social interaction, communication and language. Its etiology is still unknown, but several research lines already indicate that genetic, environmental and immunological factors may play an important role in the ASD pathogenesis, suggesting a strong correlation between mercury exposure (Hg) and autism. Hg is a highly neurotoxic heavy metal and Methylmercury (MeHg) is its organic form, the most toxic and most common found in the environment and in the aquatic food chain, being incorporated into the human body through the consumption of contaminated fish. The sequelae caused by exposure to Hg resemble the neurological dysfunctions found in ASD. It is known that in the Amazon, due to its history of informal mining and deforestation, an exposure to Hg is considered chronic, becoming relevant researches that investigate relationship between exposure to Hg and Autism Spectrum Disorder in this region. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between exposure to Hg and Autism Spectrum Disorder in the city of Santarém, Pará. 23 mothers and 25 children diagnosed with ASD assisted by Association of Parents and Friends of Exceptionals (APAE) and ‘Casa azul’ participated in the study. The analysis of total Hg was performed through the blood of these children as well as their mothers to investigate possible sources of exposure and accumulation of Hg, besides other topics related to the pre, peri and postnatal period capable to interfere with the diagnosis of ASD. It was also applied a semi-structured interview to the mothers. The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) was applied to assess the profile and levels of autism (mild or moderate and severe). The variables of this study were assessed using descriptive and inferential statistics. In the descriptive analysis, it was observed that 95% of the children were male, 56% of them were in the non-autistic range according to the CARS classification, 68% had low fish consumption and 52% were classified as exposed, it means with levels of Hg above 10 µg / L. In the inferential analysis, normality was first verified through the Shapiro-Wilk test. Frequency distribution and association analysis were performed using the Chi-square test of adherence and contingency (rows x columns), which showed a statistically significant difference between the classification of exposed and unexposed mothers (p = 0.0371), gender of the children (p <0.0001) and the classification regarding the level of ASD (p = 0.0424). The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the medians. To evaluate the relationship between age and frequency of fish consumption with levels of Hg, the Spearman correlation test was applied. In both tests, a significance level of 5% was used. The tests were performed in the BioEstat program. It was observed that there was no association or positive correlation between the variables: age, gender, frequency of fish consumption with medication use of children with level of Hg in the blood, showing that even with the low frequency of fish consumption, children presented high levels of Hg and these high levels do not have a linear and positive correlation with the degree of ASD. Thus, it is concluded that there is a need for further studies involving this theme in order to better clarify the relationship between Hg and ASD, especially regarding the action on the child's nervous and immune systems and its relationship to genetic mechanisms. It should also be taken into account the difficulties encountered during data collection and adherence of mothers to the study, which did not allow a larger sample size for research.

MEMBROS DA BANCA:
Presidente - 2142681 - BRUNO APOLO MIRANDA FIGUEIRA
Interno - 1562643 - MAXWELL BARBOSA DE SANTANA
Externa à Instituição - SILVANIA YUKIKO LINS TAKANASHI - UEPA