Vaccinations don’t cause autism - but pollution actually might!
Hey guys, Tara here for Dnews - and thanks to the recent efforts of certain celebrities,
autism has become one of the most widely-debated disorders out there. There’s a subset of
people who like to claim that vaccinations are responsible for causing autism. And despite
evidence to the contrary, there IS new data published this week, that suggests another
cause could be to blame.
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh recently discovered that children with autism
spectrum disorder, or ASD, are significantly more likely to have been exposed to high levels
of certain air toxins at a very young age.
This study looked at 217 families of children with and without ASD, spread across 6 counties
in southern Pennsylvania.
For each family, researchers used the EPA’s National Air Toxics Assessment to estimate
their levels of exposure to 30 different air pollutants known to cause endocrine disruption
or neuro-developmental problems. And after accounting for things like race, education,
maternal age, and maternal smoking - the scientists noticed a clear trend.
Children who were exposed to those pollutants anywhere from in utero up to age 2, were at
a significantly higher risk of developing ASD. And there were two specific pollutants
singled out in this study: styrene and chromium.
Styrene is a chemical used in the production of plastics and paints, but it’s also a
by-product of car exhaust. Chromium is a heavy metal, typically seen in air pollution around
manufacturing, industrial, and power plants.
Some of the other pollutants they looked at that also increased the risk of ASD, were
Cyanide, methylene chloride, methanol, and arsenic - all of which can also be found in
car exhaust, and in or around industrial plants.
You may recall last week, I did an episode on how living within 50 meters of a major
roadway, increases a woman’s risk of sudden cardiac death by 38%. Seeing as how the incidence
of ASD has risen 8-fold over the past 20 years alone - it stands to reason that an increase
in productions plants, and more cars on the road, could be at least partially responsible
for a number of diseases - including autism.
There was another recent study which found that mothers exposed to pesticides during
pregnancy are more likely to have a child with ASD. So clearly, environmental exposure
is a big factor here - and one that should be evaluated more closely.
What do you guys think? Any thoughts on this? You can let us know down below in the comments.
Otherwise, thanks for watching!