Harvard draws link between autism and air pollution

Commentary: Environmental pollutants have recently been shown to be linked to autism in a new Harvard University study. “Several studies have been done linking the disorder to metals and other exhaust pollutants in the air, but new Harvard University research is the first nationwide study.The results are especially startling because Utah has both one of the nation’s highest autism rates and pollution levels during winter inversions. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, one in 47 Utah children is afflicted with autism, compared to one in 210 in Alabama, which has the best rate. According to the Utah Registry of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, the number of Utah 8-year-olds with autism has come close to tripling since 2002”. As per the study recently linking pesticides and autism rates, this study concluded that “exposure in the womb to diesel, lead, manganese, mercury, methylene chloride and an overall measure of metals was “significantly associated with autism spectrum disorder,” with the highest association from exposure to diesel exhaust”. This study joins others in showing the effects of environmental pollutants on our health and the health of our future generations. I discuss environmental toxins and methods of detoxification in chapter 8 and 9 of my book. The majority of my patients who are tested for heavy metals show evidence of exposure to mercury and lead. We urgently need to do scientific studies looking at the role of detoxification and nutritional supplementation on prevention and treatment of emerging diseases such as autism, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and Lyme-MSIDS.

Harvard draws link between autism and air pollution, by Caleb Wamock, Daily Herald