Opinion Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Pediatr. Mar 9, 2023; 12(2): 25-37
Published online Mar 9, 2023. doi: 10.5409/wjcp.v12.i2.25
Higher rates of autism and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in American children: Are food quality issues impacting epigenetic inheritance?
Renee J Dufault, Raquel A Crider, Richard C Deth, Roseanne Schnoll, Steven G Gilbert, Walter J Lukiw, Amanda L Hitt
Renee J Dufault, Raquel A Crider, Roseanne Schnoll, Steven G Gilbert, Department of Research, Food Ingredient and Health Research Institute, Naalehu, HI 96772, United States
Renee J Dufault, College of Graduate Health Studies, A.T. Still University, Kirksville, MO 63501, United States
Richard C Deth, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314, United States
Roseanne Schnoll, Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences, Brooklyn College of CUNY, Brooklyn, NY 11210, United States
Steven G Gilbert, Department of Research, Institute of Neurotoxicology and Neurological Disorders, Seattle, WA 98105, United States
Walter J Lukiw, LSU Neuroscience Center, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA 70112, United States
Amanda L Hitt, Food Integrity Campaign, Government Accountability Project, Columbia, WA 20006, United States
Amanda L Hitt, Department of Legal, Food Ingredient and Health Research Institute, Naalehu, HI 96772, United States
Author contributions: Dufault RJ developed and wrote the original and revised manuscripts, compiled, and analyzed the dataset for table 2, created figure 3, obtained and verified public use of figure 1; Crider RA compiled and analyzed the dataset for table 1, created figure 2, provided comments on both manuscripts; Deth RC provided input on oxidative stress for revision; Schnoll R provided input on zinc metabolism and title for revision; Gilbert SG provided input on ethical considerations for revision; Lukiw WJ provided input on concurrent exposures to heavy metals for revision; Hitt AL provided insights on plant based animal product alternatives for revision; and all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Renee J Dufault, PhD, Doctor, Department of Research, Food Ingredient and Health Research Institute, PO Box 1055, Naalehu, HI 96772, United States. rdufault@foodingredient.info
Received: November 27, 2022
Peer-review started: November 27, 2022
First decision: December 13, 2022
Revised: December 25, 2022
Accepted: January 9, 2023
Article in press: January 9, 2023
Published online: March 9, 2023
Processing time: 98 Days and 11.9 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Heavy metal residues are pervasive in the food supply and allowed by the Code of Federal Regulations because of food ingredient manufacturing processes. Children fed food with heavy metal residues may bioaccumulate inorganic mercury and lead in their blood and exhibit symptoms of autism or attention deficit/hyperactivity-disorder. Prenatal dietary exposures to heavy metals may impact gene activity in children and create learning difficulties requiring special education services. Educators see an increase in the prevalence of autism and developmental delay with cases doubling or tripling since 2006. Food quality issues may be impacting epigenetic inheritance of autism and related disorders.