New research found that the children of pregnant women who were exposed to poor air quality have a higher risk of developing autism.
The study, published in Brain Medicine, pointed to four common air pollutants that increased the likelihood of developing autism in babies with an existing genetic predisposition to the condition.
It is speculated that particles can enter the child’s bloodstream during early childhood or while still in their mother’s womb. Once inside the bloodstream, these particles can bypass protective blood-brain barriers, leading to inflammation and ultimately impacting how nerves function and develop.
Earlier this month, The Dallas Express reported that the United States experienced a 175% surge in autism diagnoses between 2011 and 2022, driven in part by more cases being diagnosed in young adults. Today, roughly 3% of U.S. children have autism spectrum disorder or ASD.
Dr. Haitham Amal, the head of the Department of Laboratory of Neuromics, Cell Signaling, and Translational Medicine at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said he and his team mainly focused on nitric oxide (NO) in the study. NO is a gas that is released when cars burn fuel. He says NO “plays a major role in ASD,” per MSN.
Almost 40% of Americans live in areas with high levels of air pollution. This includes exposure to some of the harmful chemicals identified in the new study.
To determine their findings, the authors of the study analyzed four different components of air pollution: NO, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and ozone.
Particulate matter refers to microscopic pieces of dust, liquid, or smoke generated from vehicles, power plants, and construction sites. They can be as small as 1/30th the size of human hair.
While the authors did not quantify the risk, previous research from Harvard concluded that exposure to air pollution can increase the risk of ASD by upwards of 64%.