Exposure to high pollution levels during pregnancy may increase risk of having child with autism

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/exposure-to-high-pollution-levels-during-pregnancy-may-increase-risk-of-having-child-with-autism/

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Exposure to high pollution levels during pregnancy may increase risk of having child with autism[/font]

For immediate release: Tuesday, June 18, 2013

[font size=3]Boston, MA — Women in the U.S. exposed to high levels of air pollution while pregnant were up to twice as likely to have a child with autism as women who lived in areas with low pollution, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). It is the first large national study to examine links between autism and air pollution across the U.S.

“Our findings raise concerns since, depending on the pollutant, 20% to 60% of the women in our study lived in areas where risk of autism was elevated,” said lead author Andrea Roberts, research associate in the HSPH Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

…

Exposure to diesel particulates, lead, manganese, mercury, methylene chloride and other pollutants are known to affect brain function and to affect the developing baby. Two previous studies found associations between exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and autism in children, but those studies looked at data in just three locations in the U.S.

The researchers examined data from Nurses’ Health Study II, a long-term study based at Brigham and Women’s Hospital involving 116,430 nurses that began in 1989. Among that group, the authors studied 325 women who had a child with autism and 22,000 women who had a child without the disorder. They looked at associations between autism and levels of pollutants at the time and place of birth. They used air pollution data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to estimate women’s exposure to pollutants while pregnant. They also adjusted for the influence of factors such as income, education, and smoking during pregnancy.

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http://dx.doi.org/0.1289/ehp.1206187 (Doesn’t work yet.)
http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1206187/

[janlyn]

1. I am a high functioning autistic

and I have long believed that not just pollution,but various chemicals that we as a populace have exposed ourselves to on a daily basis are the cause. Autistics are known to have increased levels of genetic change. We are no different than other creatures exposed to poisons we adapt, mutate or die off. This is why you see so many Autistics with chemical sensitivity.

Unfortunately I don't see changes to our chemical filled lifestyles changing, even if there was absolute proof. The corporate entities that make millions on the production of chemicals will bribe however many politicians are necessary, to see that doesn't happen.