Document resource
Objective To investigate the associations between maternal prenatal occupational exposures to noise, vibration, and psychosocial stressors and the likelihood of children being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism spectrum disorder (autism).Material and Methods The birth-register-based FAIR cohort, covering the 2,101,678 children born in 1994–2014 in Sweden, was used. Children’s ADHD and autism diagnoses were identified from the Swedish National Patient Register of 1994–2021. Individual demographic, socioeconomic, and diagnoses data from multiple registers were linked by unique person IDs. Maternal occupational exposures to physical (noise and vibration) and psychosocial factors (decision authority, job demands, and workplace social support) were estimated by linking mothers’ Standard Swedish Occupational Classification Code (SSYK96) at pregnancy to the calendar-time specific Swedish Job-Exposure Matrices. Exclusion criteria included missing SSYK96, self-reported as non-working, or high work-day absence (>90th percentile). Noise and vibration (binary: exposed/non-exposed) and psychosocial factors (quartiles) were analyzed in single-exposure logistic regression models with ADHD/autism, starting unadjusted and incrementally adjusted for: basic covariates (sex, birth year, country of birth, maternal age), maternal smoking, parity, family economy, maternal education, maternal BMI. The same models also analyzed interactions between one physical and one psychosocial exposure (six combinations).Results Preliminary results based on 1,607,805 children (2.98% autism, 6.85% ADHD) found small but statistically significant elevations of OR for ADHD and/or autism in children in association with maternal exposure to noise, vibration, lower decision authority, lower social support, and medium-low (quartile-3) demands. High demands were inversely associated with ADHD/autism diagnosis. Significant interactions between noise and psychosocial factors, and between vibration and social support were detected.Conclusion Maternal occupational noise, vibration, and psychosocial stressors during pregnancy are in these preliminary findings associated with an increased probability of ADHD or autism diagnoses in children. Analyses are ongoing to assess the genetic contribution to this association.