Fine particulate air pollution linked with increased autism risk

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-12/hsop-fpa121514.php

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 18-Dec-2014

Contact: Marge Dwyer
Harvard School of Public Health
Fine particulate air pollution linked with increased autism risk

Boston, MA -- Women exposed to high levels of fine particulate matter specifically during pregnancy--particularly during the third trimester--may face up to twice the risk of having a child with autism than mothers living in areas with low particulate matter, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). The greater the exposure, the greater the risk, researchers found. It was the first U.S.-wide study exploring the link between airborne particulate matter and autism.

"Our data add additional important support to the hypothesis that maternal exposure to air pollution contributes to the risk of autism spectrum disorders," said Marc Weisskopf, associate professor of environmental and occupational epidemiology and senior author of the study. "The specificity of our findings for the pregnancy period, and third trimester in particular, rules out many other possible explanations for these findings."

The study appears online December 18, 2014 in Environmental Health Perspectives and will be available at http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1408133.

Prior studies have suggested that, in addition to genetics, exposure to airborne environmental contaminants, particularly during pregnancy and early life, may affect risk of autism. This study focused specifically on the pregnancy period.

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