Study Shows Link Between Autism and Air Pollution

November 12, 2014- Children who have autism spectrum disorders were more likely to have been exposed to higher levels of air toxins while in utero and during the first two years of life compared with children who don’t have the condition. That’s the preliminary result from a new study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh’s Pitt Graduate School of Public Health investigation.

“There were three small studies that came out since 2006 linking ASD, autism spectrum disorders, with air pollution,” said Evelyn Talbott, a Pitt Public Health professor of epidemiology who led the study. “I scratched my head and said, ‘Nobody’s ever looked at this, and when you don’t look at it, you don’t find anything.’ It is worth looking at it because we know so very little about what causes autism spectrum disorders.”

Children who fell into higher exposure groups of styrene and chromium were at a 1.4- to two-fold greater risk of ASD, after accounting for the mother’s age, maternal cigarette smoking, race and education. Styrene is used in plastics and paints and is produced from burning gasoline. Air pollution containing chromium is the result of industrial processes such as steel manufacturing.
The studies suggest a link where a family who has children with autism tended to live closer to areas with higher toxic air measurements, Talbott said. Further research is needed because other key findings could be made.

Read the full post-gazette.com story here.

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