You only have to look at the smoggy haze of air pollution to know that it’s doing damage to family wellness; for years, wellness experts have known that air pollution can cause respiratory damage, but is this the only way that pollution affects your wellbeing? According to a new study, published last month in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, there is a link between air pollution and autism.
For the study, the researchers looked at children born throughout America after 1987 up until 2002. They chose 1987 because this was the first year air pollution data were available. The researchers looked at six different chemicals, all of which were found to have statistically significant correlations to the occurrence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). These chemicals – known as neurotoxins – pass from mother to baby during pregnancy. However, while the research noted that there was a strong link between air pollution (and traffic-related pollutants specifically) and an increased rate of ASD, they were unable to name a single factor as responsible for the increase.
According to the study researchers, the data that they have at this point is insufficient to pinpoint which of the pollutants is causing the link, and so further study is needed. The researchers surmised that a combination of factors is responsible for ASD, including maternal age, genetics and environmental factors. Indeed, air pollution is one environmental factor identified by the study, but doctors stress that while the study shows an increased risk for autism, it does not show a cause.
This study follows another published in the same journal in May, which also raised questions about the effect traffic-caused air pollution can have on your children. The researchers of this study examined the impact of elemental carbon attributed to traffic (ECAT) exposure during infancy. Based on data from groups that lived less than 400m or more than 1,500m from a highway, the study discovered that infants who lived closer to highways – and, as such, had high ECAT exposure – were 70% more likely to be hyperactive by age seven. Therefore, both studies together indicate that air pollution from traffic has a much larger impact on your children than previously thought.
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