A latest research of Harvard School of Public Health found that pregnant women who are exposed to high level of air pollution are more likely to give birth to an autistic child.
Researchers examined the data of around 116,430 pregnant women of the US. They followed those women and carefully analyzed their pregnancy results. They especially concentrated on the health of the children. Later on, the study divulges that 245 of 116,430 children are diagnosed with autism at a very young age.
Additionally, the study unveils that women who lived close to highway during pregnancy are at a high risk of having an autistic child. The air pollution affect the most in the last months of pregnancy.
Weisskopf, the lead author of the study informs about the most beneficial part of the repot. He stated that the study offers strong evidence which unveils the cause and effect relationship of autism with air pollution.
Moreover, the report also supports all the previous studies which stated that environment plays a vital role in the development of autism. Normally, people are aware of the fact that pollution is extremely harmful for human health. However, the real impact of pollution on pregnant women is merely evident in the study.
Autism is a complex disorder of brain development. It can lead to several other disorders such as difficulty in social interaction, verbal and non verbal communication and repetitive behavior. Generally, all autism disorders come under a single term known as ASD.
The study appears in the Environmental Heath Perspective.
