Car fumes linked to child autism

LIVING near a busy road during pregnancy could cause autism in children, research claims.

And boys are at far greater risk of developing the condition.

A Canadian study of 132,000 under-fives found those exposed to higher levels of air pollution were more prone to autism.

It compared rates of the disorder with the amount of traffic fumes that would have been circulating around homes while their mothers were expecting.

In boys the risk rose by nine per cent for every 10.7 parts per billion increase in nitric oxide.

Autism is four times commoner in males than females – among whom no such effect was identified in the study.

Car and truck exhausts are the major source of nitric oxide in the atmosphere.

Study author Lief Pagalan said: “These findings suggest reducing exposure to nitric oxide for pregnant women may be associated with a reduction in autism.” Mr Pagalan, a research trainee at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, said previous research identified a link between autism and air pollution – with one study six years ago suggesting high levels can triple the risk.

So this study analysed all births in Vancouver from 2004 to 2009 and found nitric oxide was a significant factor in 1,307 (one per cent) of autism cases.

The study was published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.