Prenatal exposure to air pollution ups child's autism risk

A new study has revealed that women who are 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 the study by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), the greater the exposure the greater the risk.

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

The study was published online in Environmental Health Perspectives.