Autism More Likely in Kids
Whose Moms Live Near Freeways
http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/news/20101217/fast-lane-to-autism-living-near-freeways
Having a mother
who lived within 1,000 feet of a freeway while pregnant doubles a child's
odds of having autism.
The finding comes from a study
looking at environmental factors that might play a role in autism. University
of Southern California researcher Heather E. Volk, PhD, MPH, and colleagues
collected data from 304 California children with confirmed autism and from 259
children who developed normally.
"It has been estimated that
11% of the U.S. population lives within 100 meters [328 feet] of a four-lane
highway, so a causal link to autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders would
have broad public health implications," the researchers note.(Read
entire article)
Researchers have found that
children who live near freeways at birth have twice the risk of autism, suggesting that
environmental factors may play a role in the disorder's growing incidence.
A study by researchers at the Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles
found that babies who lived within 1,000 feet of a
freeway, but not a major road, were at risk.
Lead researcher Helen Volk says
that may be due to the type and high level of pollutants on a freeway.
(Read entire article)