Pollution could be a factor in autism, researchers have found. They say children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were more likely to have been exposed to higher levels of certain air toxics during their mothers’ pregnancies and the first two years of life.

    The find could help explain the rise in cases.

    The investigation of children in southwestern Pennsylvania was presented recently at the American Association for Aerosol Research annual meeting in Orlando.

    “Autism spectrum disorders are a major public health problem, and their prevalence has increased dramatically,” said Evelyn Talbott of Pitt Public Health, who led the research.

    “Despite its serious social impact, the causes of autism are poorly understood.

    “Very few studies of autism have included environmental exposures while taking into account other personal and behavioral risk factors. Our analysis is an addition to the small but growing body of research that considers air toxics as one of the risk factors for ASD.”

    Talbott and her colleagues performed a population-based study of families with and without ASD living in six southwestern Pennsylvania counties.

    The researchers found links between increased levels of chromium and styrene and childhood autism spectrum disorder, a condition that affects one in 68 children.

    Autism spectrum disorders are a range of conditions characterized by social deficits and communication difficulties that typically become apparent early in childhood.

    Reported cases of ASD have risen nearly eight-fold in the last two decades. While previous studies have shown the increase to be partially due to changes in diagnostic practices and greater public awareness of autism, this does not fully explain the increased prevalence.

    Both genetic and environmental factors are believed to be partially responsible.

环境污染或可致自闭症

研究者们发现，环境污染可能会导致自闭症。

他们说，患有自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)的儿童更多地是在母亲孕期和出生头两年接触了高浓度的毒性空气污染物。

这一发现可以帮助解释儿童自闭病例的增加。

最近在奥兰多举行的美国大气悬浮微粒研究协会年度会议公布了这项对宾夕法尼亚州西南部儿童的调查。该项研究的负责人，匹兹堡大学公共健康医学院的艾芙

琳·塔尔博特说，“自闭症谱系障碍是严重的公共健康问题，而且发病率在急剧增加。”

“尽管自闭症谱系障碍造成严重的社会问题，但是人们对其成因却知之甚少。”

“自闭症研究很少在考虑个人或行为因素的同时将环境影响考虑在内。我们研究毒性空气污染物作为自闭症谱系障碍发生的高危因素，这类研究刚刚兴起。”

塔尔博特博士和她的同事进行了一项以人群为基础的研究，研究对象为宾夕法尼亚西南部6个县有自闭症和无自闭症人口的家庭。研究者发现，高浓度的铬和苯乙烯和儿童自闭症相关。调查中每68个儿童中就有一个患有自闭症。

自闭症谱系障碍的特点是儿童早期就表现出社交障碍和语言交流障碍。过去二十年，已报告的自闭症病例增加了八倍。

尽管之前的研究显示，报告自闭症病例的增加部分源于诊断方法的改变和这一疾病为更多人了解，但是这无法完全解释快速上升的患病率。

基因和环境都是导致自闭症的因素。

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【障碍】

zhàng’ài

deficit

disadvantage or handicap

【患病率】

huànbìnglǜ

prevalence

the total number of cases of a disease in a given population at a specific time