研究员表示:空气污染或增加自闭风险
We do everything possible to keep our kids safe. But, what do you do if the very air they breathe is hurting them? Two new studies have found an association between relatively low levels of air pollution and children's risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). One study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, studied 132,000 births in Vancouver, Canada, from 2004 to 2009. Researchers concluded there was a link between exposure to nitric oxide from car exhaust during pregnancy and greater incidence of childhood ASD. The second study, published in Environmental Epidemiology, observed more than 15,000 infants born in Denmark between 1989 and 2013. It found that air pollution exposure during the first months of life and later was also associated with ASD. "The study showed a small increase in autism for infants exposed before birth to one of the pollutants: nitric oxide. While it's a small increase, if large populations are exposed, it could still affect many children," Lynn Singer, PhD, professor of population and quantitative health sciences, pediatrics, psychiatry, and psychology at the School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, told Healthline. "It confirms some previous research and suggests that air pollution should be studied further regarding how it relates to autism," she added. However, neither study proved that air pollution is causing ASD. The researchers have only found that children in an area with air pollution are at a greater risk. No proof yet on what causes ASD. In recent years there have been a lot of studies claiming to have found a link between one thing or another and an increased risk of ASD. Acetaminophen, sold under the brand name Tylenol, is a good example. Research published in the American Journal of Epidemiology concluded there's evidence that using acetaminophen for 28 days or more during pregnancy was linked with a 20 percent increase. Sound scary? Of course it does - but is it as bad as it sounds? Maybe not. Relative risk is the chance something will happen to a group of people. Absolute risk tells you your personal risk. This study's findings actually indicate a low level of personal risk. |