Relationship between Environmental Pollution and Autism - Essay Example

Relationship between Environmental Pollution and Autism s Autism is a disease and also a disorder during brain development that causes impaired relationships with people. It also affects the ability to acquire language skills and non-verbal communication and shows repetitive behavior in some actions. It affects the way information is processed by changing the organization and connections of nerve cells and their synapses. It is however not known how this happens. Recent studies by scholars argue that there exists a correlation between environmental pollution and autism. Pregnant women who have more exposure to higher pollution areas are at more of the risk for having children with autism (Bienkowski, 2013). This is the most recent in several similar studies to suggest this although it is the first national study. The suspect agents include diesel exhaust, mercury, manganese, lead, methylene chloride and nickel. Pollutants of this nature present in the atmosphere pose a higher risk to mothers in these areas for giving birth to children with autism. Mercury and diesel exhaust were found to pose the highest risk. Other researchers argue that there is a higher risk of autistic children being born to mothers living in areas polluted with several industrial pollutants. Windham et al. (2006), suggested that a potential association exists between autism and other elements of environmental pollution such as metal particles and possible solvents in the atmosphere. Pregnant women who lived near San Francisco bay and exposed to environmental pollutants were susceptible to autism spectrum disorders. This is due to the particulate matter in air and vaporization of mercury from asphalt during hot weather causing increased exposure to higher than normal levels of contamination. Windham et al. (2006) suggested that areas with increased concentrations of hazardous pollutants are at more risk of experiencing autism disorders. This also occurs along the west coast where there are increased ambient levels of particulate pollutants blown in from Asian countries that are the largest producers of these pollutants from coal burning in power production plants. These pollutants are neurotoxins that cross the placental barrier to the baby during development in the womb and cause genetic changes leading to defective genes. These genes disrupt brain development by causing a breakdown in the process in the fetus and cause autism. According to Kalkbrenner et al., (2014), this may also be by retarding natural nervous system development or by hindering immune cells from assisting more efficient neuron movement. (Kalkbrenner, et al., 2014) The number of autism diagnoses over the past ten years has increased. The number of American children born with autism has increased since 2002 as indicated in figure 1. As Kalkbrenner et al., (2014) indicates, 1 in 68 American children are autistic. This increase is quite significant in relation to the previous 1 in 88 statistics of 2008. Figure 1: Autism Disorder prevalence in the United States. This is equivalent to a 3.4 percentage point increase in autism incidence. The study was done in North Carolina and California and showed a similar result in correlations despite the diverse weather and climate of the places. It followed the participants between conception and the end if the first year of life between 1995 to the late 1990s (Kalkbrenner, et al., 2014). The findings support those of Roberts study of the culpability of environmental pollutants. Of interest is the finding by Roberts’ study that male children born of mothers in high pollution areas are more likely to be autistic than girls born of mothers in the same regions. Researchers referenced U.S. Environmental Protection Agency statistics on air pollution levels over the years with records from the Nurses Health Study, one among the longest ongoing studies of womens health in America. They looked for correlations between pollutant levels in the place and time a woman resided during pregnancy and whether the woman later got a child with autism or a related disorder. The researchers divided the sites into fifths, and women living in areas experiencing high levels of pollution. The division was such that there was most mercury or diesel particles in the atmosphere had twice as much chance of having an autistic child as opposed to those in the least polluted sections. Roberts however admits that there are weaknesses in the study. According to her, the multitude of pollutants makes it difficult to determine the culprit precisely. The computer models used to estimate exposure levels of mothers to the toxins also pose a challenge. The other challenge is the fact that pregnant women do not remain in the same region during their entire pregnancies (Kalkbrenner, et al., 2014). The higher incidence in urban areas could also be a result of better access to medical facilities and therefore a higher likelihood to be diagnosed. Hertz-Picciotto also suggests that a number of factors could be at play including maternal nutrition and compliance with supplementation during pregnancy. However, according to him, some children may just be more at risk than others for autism. An example of this is what was found by Roberts study about boy children. The study found that even with pollution exposure, girls were less at risk of autism than boys. Despite this, the statistics are supported by CDC data where boys are more probable to be identified as autistic than girls. Both Roberts and Kalkbrenner however agree that the sample size was insignificant (Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2014). The mechanism of pollution is that it contaminates all spheres of natural resource used by human beings, plants and animals as illustrated in the mercury cycle in figure 2. Figure 2: The Mercury cycle It occurs in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, on our driveways and freeways. It settles on our crops and farm animals. It seeps into ground water where we get water for use in our homes. Pollutants released from mining, processing, coal powered energy production and industrial processes into the atmosphere eventually find their way into our soils and water bodies. The pollutants are then taken up by a series of living organisms and into plants and animals both on the farm and in water bodies. Eating these organisms may result in as bioaccumulation (Becerra et al., 2013). When these contaminants have reached critical levels, a toxemia can result but until then, our bodies tend to stockpile them. The Environmental Protection Agency states that 45% of all mercury fumes from coal powered energy plants returns downwards within a 30 mile radius from the power station. The other 55% rises up into the air to drift around the world. About 50% of all mercury derived from crude oil winds up in asphalt. This mercury is continually evaporated from asphalt, especially on hot days. The combination many highways and streets in Southern California plus the high heat levels increase mercury content in the atmosphere than other regions. This means a greater risk for an increase in autism in these areas. As illustrated in figure 3, mercury is an environmental pollutant and also causative agents that are responsible for Autism. Figure 3: possible environmental causes of autism It has been suggested that mothers and children in these areas have blood drawn from them to determine what toxins they have been exposed to. The challenge here is that not all pollutants show up in blood work. Another approach is strict enforcement of regulations and measures against pollution. Many statutory bodies require businesses to guard against emitting pollutants but do not test for the pollutants in the airThis means that there is in effect no enforcement (Becerra et al., 2013). If left unchecked, autism will become a serious health threat in the United States. Not autism alone but other disorders that are caused by environmental pollution either in the autism spectrum or otherwise through gene mutation. The proliferation of incidences of autism in the recent years is alarming, and a collaborative effort is needed to avert future problems. The Centre for disease control (CDC), researchers, enforcement agencies and the public need to generate and implement knowledge that informs on the dangers and ways of avoiding damage from pollution. Better diagnostic tools should also be evolved for detecting the exact causes and mechanisms of action of these neurodevelopmental disorders so that instituted measures can be more effective. Until such time, the best remedy is prevention. Pregnant mothers should be sensitized against living in high pollution areas for their health and that of their fetuses. References Becerra, T., Wilhelm, M., Olsen, J., Cockburn, M., & Ritz, B. (2013). Ambient Air Pollution and Autsim in Los Angeles County, California. Envrionmental Health Perspectives, 121(3), 380-386. Bienkowski, B. (2013, June 18). US kids born in polluted areas more likely to have autism. Envrinmental Health News. Kalkbrenner, A., Windham, G., Serre, M., Akita, Y., Wang, X., Hoffman, K., . . . Daniels, J. (2014). Particulate Matter Exposure, Prenatal and Postnatal Windows of Susceptibility, and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Epidemiology. Windham, G., Zhang, L., Gunier, R., Croen, L., & Grether, J. (2006). Autism Spectrum Disorder in Relation to Distribution of Hazard Pollutants in the San Fransisco Bay Area. Environmental Health Perspectives, 114(9), 1438-1444. Wisconsin-Milwaukee, U. o. (2014, October 15). Researcher adds to evidence linking autism to air pollutants. Retrieved from Science Daily: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141015112119.htm Read More