{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T11:03:37Z","timestamp":1792062217938,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,3]],"date-time":"2022-11-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1667433600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Nutr."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Emerging evidence indicates a connection between serum iron levels and autism, but the underlying causal association is yet unclear. Thus, we performed two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to evaluate the causal link between iron status on autism, using genetic instruments (\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    &amp;lt; 5E\u201308) strongly associated with iron status (\n                    <jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 48,972), including serum iron, ferritin, transferrin levels, and transferrin saturation. Summary statistics of autism was obtained from two independent studies conducted by Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC,\n                    <jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\n                    cases = 5,305,\n                    <jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\n                    controls = 5,305) and FinnGen Consortium (FC, Round six,\n                    <jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\n                    cases = 344,\n                    <jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\n                    controls = 258,095), respectively. Using the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method, the combined results of PGC and FC demonstrated that genetically determined serum transferrin level was significantly associated with an increased risk of autism [odds ratio (OR) = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.03\u20131.30,\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 0.013]. There was no significant causal effect of serum iron (OR = 0.99, 95% CI: 0.72\u20131.37,\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 0.951), ferritin (OR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.47\u20131.64,\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 0.676), and transferrin saturation (OR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.72\u20131.09,\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 0.252) on autism. No obvious pleiotropy was found in this MR study. Taken together, our findings highlight that elevation of serum transferrin level might be associated with a high risk of autism, suggesting a potential role of iron deficiency in autism development. Future studies are warranted to clarify the underlying mechanism, which will pave a new path for the prevention and treatment of autism.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fnut.2022.957600","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,3]],"date-time":"2022-11-03T08:51:11Z","timestamp":1667465471000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":17,"title":["The causal association between iron status and the risk of autism: A Mendelian randomization 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