Prenatal exposure may impact development of autism spectrum disorder in first five years<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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THURSDAY, Jan. 19, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Prenatal exposure to non-tailpipe air pollution emissions is associated with development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in young children, according to a study published in the January issue of Environment International<\/em>.<\/p>\n Md Mostafijur Rahman, Ph.D., from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and colleagues examined associations between ASD and fine particulate matter (PM2.5<\/sub>) tracers of tailpipe (elemental carbon [EC] and organic carbon [OC]) and non-tailpipe (copper [Cu], iron [Fe], and manganese [Mn]) sources during pregnancy. The analysis included 318,750 children born in Kaiser Permanente Southern California hospitals from 2001 to 2014 and followed until age 5 years.<\/p>\n The researchers found that increased ASD risk was associated with gestational exposures to tracers of both tailpipe and non-tailpipe emissions in single-pollutant models. For EC, OC, Cu, Fe, and Mn, the ASD hazard ratios per interquartile increment of exposure were 1.11, 1.09, 1.09, 1.14, and 1.17, respectively. For non-tailpipe sources, the estimated effects of Cu, Fe, and Mn were largely unchanged in two-pollutant models when adjusting for PM2.5<\/sub>, nitrogen dioxide, EC, or OC. There was marked weakening of ASD associations observed for EC and OC when adjusting for non-tailpipe sources.<\/p>\n “Implications are that reducing tailpipe emissions, especially from vehicles with internal combustion engines, may not eliminate ASD associations with traffic-related air pollution,” the authors write.<\/p>\n