Environmental Pollution may Increase Risk of Autism Disorder

A recent study suggests that various environmental factors can increase the risk of autism in children.

A recent analysis of over 100 million U.S. medical records showed how the environment can influence autism risk.

In fact, the studies showed that genital malformation are a possible sign of congenital exposure to harmful chemicals, along with a connection due to pesticides and various other factors. 

"Autism appears to be strongly correlated with rate of congenital malformations of the genitals in males across the country," said study author Andrey Rzhetsky, professor of genetic medicine and human genetics at the University of Chicago, via a press release. "This gives an indicator of environmental load and the effect is surprisingly strong."

As autism and many other intellectual disabilities may carry genetic components, researchers note that it doesn't take away from the fact that environmental factors can increase the risk of the disorder and its development in the human body.

For the study, Rzhetsky and his team researched data sets on insurance claims that had information on nearly a third of the American population. Over time, they noted that state regulation wasn't up to par with current research taking place.

However, researchers note that they did not examine vaccines for these particular disorders, which could potentially have played a role in the findings.

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More information regarding the study can be found via the journal PLOS Computational Biology.