by Aimee Keenan-Greene 
 
A new study in Environmental Health Perspectives says there may be a link between autism and living near highways.
 
The article published in the peer reviewed journal by the National Institute of Environmental Health Services,  says little is known about the environmental causes and contributing factors for autism. Some basic science and epidemiological research suggests oxidative stress and inflammation may play a role in disease development. 
 
Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that inhibits a person's ability to communicate and develop social relationships, and is often accompanied by behavioral challenges, according to Autism Speaks.  Autism affects one in 110 children in the United States, four times as many boys as girls. 
 
Traffic-related air pollution contains substances known to have adverse prenatal effects. 
 
The Environmental Protection Agency says a study from the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health published in the August 2009 journal Pediatrics, found evidence linking levels of a common urban air pollutant and children’s IQ test scores. The study was conducted by the Centers for Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research and jointly funded by the U.S. EPA’s STAR Grants program and the National Center for Environmental Health Sciences. 
 
Researchers examined the association between autism and mothers who lived near major roadways during pregnancy and near the time of delivery.

Scientists looked at 304 autism cases and 259 typically developing controls enrolled in the Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE) Study. The mother's addresses were geo-coded to determine the distance to freeways and major roads using ArcGIS software.

The result, autism was also associated with residential proximity to a freeway during the third trimester, however living near other major roads at birth was not associated with autism.

Scientists now say studies to measure air pollutants are  needed.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the prevalence of autism increased 57 percent from 2002 to 2006 and because of that the call autism a national public health crisis whose cause and cure remain unknown.

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