Pollution tied to risk of autism

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida - Reuters

Babies who are exposed to lots of traffic-related air pollution in the womb and during their first year of life are more likely to become autistic, according to a U.S. study.

The findings, which appeared in the Archives of General Psychiatry, support previous research linking how close children live to freeways to their risk of autism, the study’s lead author says. “We’re not saying traffic pollution causes autism, but it may be a risk factor for it,” said Heather Volk, an assistant professor at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

The prevalence of autism has grown over the past few years, and it is estimated that the disorder, which runs a spectrum from a profound inability to communicate and mental retardation to milder symptoms seen in Asperger’s Syndrome, affects one in every 88 children born in the United States.