"Environmental, State-Level Regulatory Factors Affect Incidence of Autism & Intellectual Disability"

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3. Previous OP: How Environmental Toxins Can Cause Autism

http://www.weather.com/health/how-environmental-toxins-can-cause-autism-20140313

How Environmental Toxins Can Cause Autism

Environmental factors such as toxins and pesticides can cause severe health problems, especially for pregnant women and fetuses. For male fetuses, the harmful effect of exposure to these toxins work like this: Toxins can cause genital malformations, which are then linked to autism and intellectual disability, according to a study from the University of Chicago published in the journal PLOS Computational Biology.

The analysis looked at 100 million U.S. medical records and examined them at a county level. Autism rates jumped 283 percentage points for every one percent increase in frequency of malformations per county. In total, male children with autism were six times more likely to have genital malformations.

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

Genital malformations — such as micropenis and undescended testicles — indicate a possible exposure to harmful toxins, including environmental lead, medications and other synthetic molecules. Researchers concluded that the malformations also correlated with an increase in autism rates, therefore demonstrating a link between environmental toxins and autism.

"We interpret the results of this study as a strong environmental signal," Rzhetsky said.

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PHOTO CAPTION: Ways Air Pollution Hurts - Recently, the World Health Organization officially acknowledged air pollution as a carcinogen, and stressed the importance of cleaning up the globe’s air. What are some other health risks of air pollution? Click through to find out. (Thinkstock/Digital Vision)

LINK FROM: http://annedachel.com/2014/03/13/the-weather-channel-vaccines-at-most-they-play-a-very-weak-role/