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A new study has given more evidence that links early exposure to air toxins to a higher autism risk. The new study revealed that children with autism were more likely to have been exposed to some particular air pollutants in the first years of line than those who did not have the disorder, which brings scientists to the conclusion that early exposure to air pollution is linked to autism.
The lead scientists of this study is Dr. Evelyn Talbott, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. The results of the study that say early exposure to air pollution is linked to autism were presented at the American Association for Aerosol Research in Orlando, Florida.
In the United States in 2000, it was 1 in 150 children that suffered from autism. Now, in 2014, it’s 1 in 68. There is now known cause for autism, only some factors that seem to lead to the development of the disease.
For their research, the team of scientists interviewed 217 families from Pennsylvania with children suffering from autism. The children in question were all born between 2005 and 2009 and they were living with their families in: Allegheny, Butler, Armstrong, Beaver, Westmoreland and Washington.
The results of the study showed that children who were exposed to two specific air pollutants during their mother’s pregnancy were twice as likely to have autism when compared to children who were not exposed to the pollutants. These two potentially harmful air pollutants are styrene and chromium.
Styrene is a compound used in the making of paints and plastics and it is also made by the burning of gasoline and chromium is a heavy metal produced by power plants and other industrial processes.
From this study it is clear that early exposure to air pollution is linked to autism and some other air pollutants except these two have been found to be linked to an increased autism risk in very young children. They are methylene chloride, methanol, cyanide and arsenic.
The team has also included personal and behavioral risk factors such as age, smoking and race. Following the inclusion of the risks, it was found that early exposure to air pollution is linked to autism risk in young children.
