严重污染空气：令孕妇易生自闭症婴儿

一项新的研究显示，孕妇暴露在空气污染程度高的环境下，所生自闭症婴儿的概率是住在低污染区孕妇的两倍。

哈佛大学的研究人员称，该项研究是首个探讨污染普遍程度和自闭症发展之间关联性的大型全国性研究，其研究结果发表在最近出版的《环境健康展望》期刊上。

依据污染物而定，研究中有20%至60%的妇女居住的地区，使得她们生出自闭症孩子的风险增加。

哈佛大学公共卫生学院的研究人员对一项大型调查数据进行了分析，该数据来自从1989年开始对116430名护理师所进行的调查。为了进行分析，研究人员找出325名生出自闭症孩子的妇女，另外22000名妇女，她们的孩子没有自闭症。

为了评估怀孕时暴露于污染物的程度，利用美国环境保护署的空气污染数据，并且调整了收入、教育、怀孕期间吸烟等因素。

研究结果显示，住在空气中柴油微粒和汞含量最高区的妇女，所生自闭症孩子的概率，是住在含量最低区妇女的两倍。

研究人员建议，孕妇应定期测量血液中金属和其他污染物含量，以便进一步了解特定污染物是否会增加产下自闭症婴儿的风险。



原文链接：

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Perinatal Air Pollutant Exposures and Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Children of Nurses’ Health Study II Participants

Abstract
Objective: Air pollution contains many toxicants known to affect neurological function and to have effects on the fetus in utero. Recent studies have reported associations between perinatal exposure to air pollutants and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. We tested the hypothesis that perinatal exposure to air pollutants is associated with ASD, focusing on pollutants associated with ASD in prior studies.
Methods: We estimated associations between U.S. Environmental Protection Agency modeled levels of hazardous air pollutants at the time and place of birth and ASD in the children of participants in the Nurses’ Health Study II (325 cases, 22,101 controls). Our analyses focused on pollutants associated with ASD in prior research. We accounted for possible confounding and ascertainment bias by adjusting for family-level socioeconomic status (maternal grandparents’ education) and census-tract-level socioeconomic measures (e.g., tract median income and percent college educated), as well as maternal age at birth and year of birth. We also examined possible differences in the relationship between ASD and pollutant exposures by child’s sex.
Results: Perinatal exposures to the highest versus lowest quintile of diesel, lead, manganese, mercury, methylene chloride, and an overall measure of metals were significantly associated with ASD, with odds ratios ranging from 1.5 (for overall metals measure) to 2.0 (for diesel and mercury). In addition, linear trends were positive and statistically significant for these exposures (P < .05 for each). For most pollutants, associations were stronger for boys (279 cases) than girls (46 cases) and significantly different according to sex.
Conclusions: Perinatal exposure to air pollutants may increase risk for ASD. Additionally, future studies should consider sex-specific biological pathways connecting perinatal exposure to pollutants with ASD.




来源：科学网