AUSTIN (KXAN) – Researchers have discovered a potential link between autism in boys and the consumption of diet soda or the artificial sweetener aspartame by their mothers during pregnancy or while breastfeeding, according to a recent study.
For the study, scientists at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio gathered information from parents of 235 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and 121 children without autism. The parents were asked to complete a retrospective questionnaire about their diet soda and aspartame intake during their pregnancies or while breastfeeding.
Biological mothers were specifically asked, “While you were pregnant or breastfeeding your child, how often did you drink diet drinks containing artificial sweeteners? Please count diet sodas first, such as Diet Coke, Diet Dr. Pepper, and Diet Sprite, and then other diet drinks, such as Crystal Light, sugar-free Kool-Aid, Slim-Fast, and other ‘lite’ drinks.”
It’s important to note that not all diet beverages contain aspartame. The researchers did not request that women only consider aspartame-containing diet beverages consumed during pregnancy or breastfeeding. However, all drinks listed in the survey’s examples do contain aspartame.
The findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrients, reveal that boys with autism were more than three times as likely to have mothers who consumed diet soda daily during pregnancy or while breastfeeding compared to boys without autism.
No statistically significant association was found among girls.
“These associations do not prove causality, but when combined with reports from previous studies on increased prematurity and cardiometabolic health impacts in infants and children exposed to daily consumption of diet beverages or aspartame during pregnancy, our findings raise new questions about potential neurological impacts that need to be addressed,” said Raymond F. Palmer, professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at UT Health San Antonio and the author of the paper, in a news release.
The study authors suggest that further research with larger sample sizes should be conducted to explore the potential link between aspartame and the development of autism.
However, they do advise caution for pregnant or breastfeeding mothers in regards to consuming diet sodas or products containing a similar amount of aspartame.
These study results align with a recent announcement from the World Health Organization, which categorized aspartame as a “possible” cause of cancer. Despite this, WHO officials clarified that they were not recommending complete avoidance of the sweetener but rather moderation in its consumption.
Following the WHO announcement, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which approved limited consumption of aspartame in 1974, emphasized that the classification of “possibly carcinogenic” does not imply a direct link to cancer.
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