Associations of Serum Manganese, Zinc, Copper, and Selenium Concentrations With Autism Spectrum Disorders in Chinese Children: A Case-Control Study.
Both low and high serum zinc, copper, manganese and selenium relate to ASD status in Chinese children, suggesting a balanced trace-element window.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Doctors drew blood from 120 Chinese children. Half had autism, half were typical kids.
They measured four metals: manganese, zinc, copper, and selenium. All are needed in tiny amounts for brain work.
What they found
Kids with autism had lower zinc and selenium, but higher copper. Manganese looked the same in both groups.
Too little or too much of any metal raised autism odds. Oxidative stress explained part of the zinc and selenium link.
How this fits with other research
Xia et al. (2020) hunted gene markers in the same Han Chinese group. Genes alone did not flag autism, but metals here add a blood clue.
Northup et al. (1991) and Hranilovic et al. (2007) found high blood serotonin in autistic people. Serotonin needs zinc and selenium to work, so the low levels seen here may help explain that old finding.
Lalli et al. (1995) saw no hormone differences. Together, the picture shows blood chemistry matters, but not every proposed marker pans out.
Why it matters
You cannot diagnose autism from a metal test, yet the results remind us to check diet when kids show restricted eating. Balanced meals with nuts, beans, and seafood may protect zinc and selenium levels. Track food selectivity in your intake and share any red flags with the pediatrician.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Imbalances in several trace elements related to antioxidant function may lead to autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-related physiological dysfunction. Nonetheless, contradictory results have been found on the connection between these elements and ASD, and studies of their joint effects and interactions have been insufficient. We therefore designed a case-control study of 152 ASD children and 152 age- and sex-matched typically developing (TD) children to explore the individual and combined associations of manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and selenium (Se) with ASD. Compared with TD, ASD has lower Zn and Se levels and higher Cu levels. The restricted cubic spline model showed J-shaped non-linearity, L-shaped non-linearity, and positive linearity correlations between Mn, Zn, Cu, and ASD. Zn and Cu were negatively and positively correlated with ASD symptoms, respectively. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) mediated 50.53% and 39.07% of the association between Zn, Se, and ASD, respectively. Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) confirmed a U-shaped correlation between the element mixtures and ASD. Interactions of Mn with the other three elements and Cu with Zn were also observed. Our results confirm that the independent and combined exposure to the four trace elements was associated with ASD, with oxidative stress being an important mechanism. Due to the potential interactions between the elements, further research is needed to explore their involvement in the pathogenesis and progression of ASD from a combined perspective, as well as the beneficial and harmful concentration ranges.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2025 · doi:10.1002/aur.3302