Dr. Manouchehr Hessabi
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2009 to present

Autism and the Environment

Environmental and genetic determinants of autism spectrum disorder in Jamaican children, studied through the Epidemiological Research on Autism in Jamaica (ERAJ) project and its follow-up studies.

Location

Kingston, Jamaica and Houston, Texas

Indexed papers

16

About the program

ERAJ is a long-running research partnership between UTHealth Houston and the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, studying the environmental, genetic, and nutritional factors associated with autism spectrum disorder in a middle-income country. The work has generated dozens of peer-reviewed publications on topics ranging from heavy metal exposure to glutathione S-transferase polymorphisms, food allergies, metabolomics, and diagnostic methods in low-resource settings. Dr. Hessabi has contributed to data management, analysis, and authorship across the program as Data Manager and co-investigator since 2009.

Key findings

  1. 01

    Blood mercury, arsenic, manganese, and cadmium concentrations in Jamaican children with and without ASD vary meaningfully by diet and environmental exposure, most notably seafood, drinking-water source, and produce.

  2. 02

    Glutathione S-transferase (GSTT1, GSTM1, GSTP1) gene polymorphisms interact with environmental exposures and with common comorbidities such as eczema and food allergies in relation to ASD severity.

  3. 03

    ASD can be diagnosed with validated tools in low- and middle-income countries. The ERAJ protocol has been adapted for Pakistan and Romania.

  4. 04

    Metabolomic profiles differ between Jamaican children with and without ASD, pointing to metabolic pathways worth further investigation.

Collaborators

  • Dr. Mohammad H. Rahbar (UTHealth)
  • Prof. Maureen Samms-Vaughan (UWI Mona)
  • The ERAJ Consortium

Publications in this program

  1. 2025Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders10 citations

    Metabolomic profiles in Jamaican children with and without autism spectrum disorder

    Yazdani A, Samms-Vaughan M, Saroukhani S, Bressler J, Hessabi M, Tahanan A, et al.

  2. 2024Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders14 citations

    Additive or interactive associations of food allergies with glutathione S-transferase genes in relation to ASD and ASD severity in Jamaican children

    Saroukhani S, Samms-Vaughan M, Bressler J, Lee M, Byrd-Williams C, Hessabi M, et al.

  3. 2024BMC Pediatrics4 citations

    Factors associated with blood mercury concentrations and their interactions with three glutathione S-transferase genes (GSTT1, GSTM1, and GSTP1): an exposure assessment study of typically developing Jamaican children

    Zaman SF, Samms-Vaughan M, Saroukhani S, Bressler J, Hessabi M, Grove ML, et al.

  4. 2023Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders8 citations

    Interactive associations of eczema with glutathione S-transferase genes in relation to autism spectrum disorder and its severity in Jamaican children

    Saroukhani S, Samms-Vaughan M, Bressler J, Lee M, Byrd-Williams C, Hessabi M, et al.

  5. 2023Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders5 citations

    Are there sex differences in interactive associations of environmental exposure to Lead, Mercury, and Manganese with GST genes in relation to ASD in Jamaican children?

    Zwiya HT, Samms-Vaughan M, Bressler J, Lee M, Byrd-Williams C, Hessabi M, et al.

  6. 2022Genes9 citations

    Interactions between environmental factors and glutathione S-transferase (GST) genes with respect to detectable blood aluminum concentrations in Jamaican children

    Rahbar MH, Samms-Vaughan M, Zhao Y, Saroukhani S, Bressler J, Hessabi M, et al.

  7. 2022Genes12 citations

    Detoxification role of metabolic glutathione S-transferase (GST) genes in blood lead concentrations of Jamaican children with and without autism spectrum disorder

    Rahbar MH, Samms-Vaughan M, Kim S, Saroukhani S, Bressler J, Hessabi M, et al.

  8. 2022Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition23 citations

    Fungi: friend or foe? A mycobiome evaluation in children with autism and gastrointestinal symptoms

    Alookaran J, Liu Y, Auchtung TA, Tahanan A, Hessabi M, Asgarisabet P, et al.

  9. 2021International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health28 citations

    Concentrations of lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, manganese, and aluminum in the blood of Pakistani children with and without autism spectrum disorder and their associated factors

    Rahbar MH, Ibrahim SH, Azam SI, Hessabi M, Karim F, Kim S, et al.

  10. 2021Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders18 citations

    Interaction of blood manganese concentrations with GSTT1 in relation to autism spectrum disorder in Jamaican children

    Rahbar MH, Samms-Vaughan M, Saroukhani S, Lee M, Zhang J, Bressler J, et al.

  11. 2020Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders38 citations

    Perinatal factors associated with autism spectrum disorder in Jamaican children

    Saroukhani S, Samms-Vaughan M, Lee M, Bach MA, Bressler J, Hessabi M, et al.

  12. 2019International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health21 citations

    Concentrations of lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, manganese, and aluminum in blood of Romanian children suspected of having autism spectrum disorder

    Hessabi M, Rahbar MH, Dobrescu I, Bach MA, Kobylinska L, Bressler J, et al.

  13. 2017Autism58 citations

    The diagnosis of autism and autism spectrum disorder in low and middle income countries: experience from Jamaica

    Samms-Vaughan M, Rahbar MH, Dickerson AS, Loveland KA, Hessabi M, Pearson DA, et al.

  14. 2014Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders52 citations

    Role of fruits, grains, and seafood consumption in blood cadmium concentrations of Jamaican children with and without autism spectrum disorder

    Rahbar MH, Samms-Vaughan M, Dickerson AS, Loveland KA, Ardjomand-Hessabi M, Bressler J, et al.

  15. 2013Neurotoxicity Research85 citations

    Seafood consumption and blood mercury concentrations in Jamaican children with and without autism spectrum disorders

    Rahbar MH, Samms-Vaughan M, Loveland KA, Ardjomand-Hessabi M, Chen Z, Bressler J

  16. 2012Science of The Total Environment78 citations

    The role of drinking water sources, consumption of vegetables and seafood in relation to blood arsenic concentrations of Jamaican children with and without autism spectrum disorders

    Rahbar MH, Samms-Vaughan M, Ardjomand-Hessabi M, Loveland KA, Dickerson AS, Chen Z