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Diesel Engine Fumes Linked to Autism: Study

5808 Views 43 Replies 30 Participants Last post by  FenwickHockey65, 
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Could diesel fumes potentially be hazardous to unborn babies?

According to a recent study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, women exposed to diesel fumes during late pregnancy could double the risk of having a child with autism. Researchers found that the risk rises in areas with high levels of traffic pollution and women are most vulnerable during the last trimester of pregnancy. The study looked at the impact of exposure to PM 2.5s, a small pollution particle produced by diesel engines.

By collecting data on 116,000 women, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health noted where those women lived during their pregnancies and compared it with data from the Environmental Protection Agency and other sources on levels of fine particulate matter air pollution. As a result, they identified 245 children who were diagnosed with autism and a control group of 1,522 children without autism. Researchers concluded that exposure to PM2.5 was significantly associated with autism during pregnancy though exposure before or after was not associated.

“Our data add additional important support to the hypothesis that maternal exposure to air pollution contributes to the risk of autism spectrum disorders,” said Marc Weisskopf, associate professor of environmental and occupational epidemiology and senior author of the study. “The evidence base for a role for maternal exposure to air pollution increasing the risk of autism spectrum disorders is becoming quite strong.”
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To read more of this story, Diesel Engine Fumes Linked to Autism: Study visit AutoGuide.com.
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BlackGTP
After being stuck behind a truck spewing diesel and breathing it in for 10 minutes I certainly feel like I've had 20 IQ points (that I can't spare) lobbed off. Can't say if the link to autism is right or wrong, but my gut tells me that breathing in anything other than clean air must have some long term impacts.

It's almost always small box trucks and landscaping trucks with the exhaust at ground level (vs. big rigs with the pipes exhausting into the sky, though I know we end up breathing that also). Not that I'm a die hard tree hugger, but I really wish the EPA or someone would clean those types of vehicles up!
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newdude
This just in...breathing causes everything!!!
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momo67
What a bunch of crap. First they blames vaccines, and now its diesel. What next, high fructose corn syrup? If diesel causes autism, why aren't there millions of autistic kids in Europe where more than 50% of cars have a diesel engine? Or India? Somehow its only middle class American kids who get autism. Hmmm.
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sfbreh
Sure explains rolling coal.

momo67 said:
What a bunch of crap. First they blames vaccines, and now its diesel. What next, high fructose corn syrup? If diesel causes autism, why aren't there millions of autistic kids in Europe where more than 50% of cars have a diesel engine? Or India? Somehow its only middle class American kids who get autism. Hmmm.
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It's a government conspiracy!!
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M
momo67 said:
What a bunch of crap. First they blames vaccines, and now its diesel. What next, high fructose corn syrup? If diesel causes autism, why aren't there millions of autistic kids in Europe where more than 50% of cars have a diesel engine? Or India? Somehow its only middle class American kids who get autism. Hmmm.
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Or... the kids get hid in the dark corners of society in those countries.
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0fxxk0
I love scare porn!
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M
Much more information in this story. Many media sites are leaving out a lot of info.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/med...to-autism-risk/ar-BBgX1PA?ocid=ansHealthDay11

Two important quotes from the study.
In addition, it's important to note that while this study found an association between air pollution exposure in pregnancy and the risk of autism, the study doesn't prove that smog exposure caused autism.
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For example, he noted, it could be argued that exposure to air pollution is just a marker of lower income and less prenatal care, which could be the "real" risk factor.
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S
Here is a big issue with PM 2.5 studies. They focus only on the size of the compound, not what the compound actually is. Secondly on this study it appears that the data set was pretty small.
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FenwickHockey65
Probably the same people who think vaccines cause autism.
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S
If this diesel blame game fails the only thing left to blame for Autism with be the act of blaming something for Autism!
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vanshmack
Correlation does not imply causation.

Once again, folks are trying to blame external forces on something that is, by most impartial accounts, genetic.

The increase in the diagnosis of autism is mainly related to medical science's propensity to put a label on everything, and of course, it gives an excuse to medicate.

Just like the fraudulent vaccine study that was debunked a few years ago, I'm sure the agenda behind this particular study will also become known, or at the very least, the flaws in methodology will eventually be exposed.
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BlueMontreal
Comparisons with the fraudulent study Andrew Wakefield on vaccines are fetched.

We're talking about a study by Harvard School of Public Health. This sampling is vast and conclusions are conservatives.

You can like or not the preliminary findings but this is serious research and is rather worrying.

Here is the Harvard press release.
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R
People dismissed the initial research that the lead in exhaust from petrol/gasoline vehicles can permanently damage the brain and impair intellectual development of children.

Mind you, those affected children are now in senior political and commercial positions around the world!
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G
momo67 said:
Somehow its only middle class American kids who get autism. Hmmm.
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Some people will say that if you're poor, then you're just plain stupid.... I'm sure Romneycare has a solution for this though...
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rand49er
Ruperts Trooper said:
People dismissed the initial research that the lead in exhaust from petrol/gasoline vehicles can permanently damage the brain and impair intellectual development of children.

Mind you, those affected children are now in senior political and commercial positions around the world!
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:lmao:

Something in our environment is causing the reproductive process in humans to go a bit haywire. Sure, Diesels might have some effect there, but humans have been introducing all kinds of chemicals into our homes that were never there before. Could be some combination of things, Diesels or no Diesels.
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D
rand49er said:
:lmao:

Something in our environment is causing the reproductive process in humans to go a bit haywire. Sure, Diesels might have some effect there, but humans have been introducing all kinds of chemicals into our homes that were never there before. Could be some combination of things, Diesels or no Diesels.
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ethanol?
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L
spd98 said:
Here is a big issue with PM 2.5 studies. They focus only on the size of the compound, not what the compound actually is. Secondly on this study it appears that the data set was pretty small.
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Good point. But the high degree of correlation warrants further investigation, don't you think.
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X
I think this can be right. I live in Iran, and the southern part of my country is the most polluted part where most of autistic children are diagnosed.
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0fxxk0
Could be worse diesel fumes could cause cancer. Inhale away everyone!
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