Scientists find **baffling** link between autism and vinyl flooring

[Guest guest]

(phthalates are also used to extend the staying power of fragrances, which

is perhaps why many with MCS/ES get neuro-toxic reactions from PVC and

fragranced products that are similar to autism - ie - intermittently

autistic...)

 

Scientists find **baffling** link between autism and vinyl flooring

_http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/autism-and-vinyl-flooring_

(http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/autism-and-vinyl-flooring)

 

Children who live in homes with vinyl floors, which can emit phthalates, are

twice as likely to have autism, according to a new study by Swedish and U.S.

researchers. Scientists call the discovery **intriguing and baffling.**

Experts suspect that genetic and environmental factors combine to cause autism,

which has increased dramatically in children over the past 20 years.

 

By Marla Cone

Editor in Chief

Environmental Health News

March 31, 2009

 

Children who live in homes with vinyl floors, which can emit chemicals

called phthalates, are more likely to have autism, according to research by

Swedish and U.S. scientists published Monday.

 

The study of Swedish children is among the first to find an apparent

connection between an environmental chemical and autism.

 

The scientists were surprised by their finding, calling it **far from

conclusive.** Because their research was not designed to focus on autism, they

recommend further study of larger numbers of children to see whether the link

can be confirmed.

 

Bernard Weiss, a professor of environmental medicine at University of

Rochester and a co-author of the study, said the connection between vinyl

flooring

and autism **turned up virtually by accident.** He called it **intriguing and

baffling at the same time.**

 

Experts suspect that genetic and environmental factors combine to cause

autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder that has increased dramatically in

children

over the past 20 years.

 

In the new study, Swedish families were asked questions about flooring as

part of research investigating allergies and indoor air pollutants. Phthalates,

used to make soft plastic, have in previous studies been connected to

allergies and asthma.

 

The study was based on surveys that asked a variety of questions related to

the indoor environment. Of the study*s 4,779 children between the ages of 6

and 8, 72 had autism, including 60 boys.

 

The researchers found four environmental factors associated with autism:

vinyl flooring, the mother’s smoking, family economic problems and

condensation

on windows, which indicates poor ventilation.

 

Infants or toddlers who lived in bedrooms with vinyl, or PVC, floors were

twice as likely to have autism five years later, in 2005, than those with wood

or linoleum flooring.

 

 

**A greater proportion of children with autism spectrum disorder were

reported to have PVC as flooring material in the child’s and the parent’s

bedroom

in 2000 compared to children without autism spectrum disorder,†the

scientists wrote in the journal Neurotoxicology. “Furthermore, children with

autism

spectrum disorder were reported to live in homes with more condensation on the

inside of the windows, which…may be seen as an indicator for deficient

ventilation.**

 

 

Children in the study also were twice as likely to have autism if their

mothers smoked cigarettes. The autistic children also were more likely to have

asthma.

 

 

The lead investigator was Carl-Gustav Bornehag of Karlstad University in

Sweden, who in 2004 found a high rate of asthma and allergies among children

living in households with dust containing phthalates.

 

 

The scientists reported that they do not know if asthma and autism are

related, or whether phthalates contributed to the risk of autism by some other

mechanism, such as disruption of hormones. Phthalates in animal tests interfere

with male hormones and sexual development.

 

 

**The data are far from conclusive. They are puzzling, even baffling, and

not readily explicable at this time,** the scientists wrote in their study.

**However, because they are among the few clues that have emerged about

possible

environmental contributions to autistic disorders, we believe that they

should be weighed carefully and warrant further study.**

 

Several scientists who did not participate in the study cautioned that it

has too many limitations to draw conclusions, but they suggested that new

studies be designed to look for a connection between autism and indoor air

pollutants.

 

Dr. Philip Landrigan, a pediatrician who is director of the Children's

Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, called the

results

**intriguing, but in my mind preliminary because they are based on very small

numbers.**

 

Landrigan said he has **no doubt that environmental exposures are involved

in causation of autism,** but he suspects the most significant exposures occur

not in childhood, but early in pregnancy, **when the basic architecture of

the brain is still being established.**

 

 

The researchers relied on questionnaires and did not measure any chemicals

in the homes, which limits the reliability of the findings because they do not

know for certain that the children were exposed to phthalates. Previous

studies have found that phthalates are common in household dust.

 

 

Phthalates are used as softeners in plastic for vinyl flooring as well as

other building materials, toys and medical equipment. The chemicals have become

increasing controversial in recent years, with Congress last year banning

their use in children’s products.

 

 

The American Chemistry Council, representing chemical companies producing

phthalates, said in a statement Monday that the new study does not prove a link

between the chemicals and autism. **No other means for assessing these

children existed except for the questionnaire and the parent's responses,

making

this finding rather insignificant,** said Chris Bryant, the group*s managing

director. Autism, he said, **was not systematically analyzed, but just

happened to be a question asked five years into the study.**

 

 

The industry group has said flooring emits **extremely low** levels of

phthalates. Because the compounds are heavy molecules with low volatility, they

do

not tend to evaporate, and wear and tear that might release particles into

dust is slight, they said.

 

 

Vinyl flooring is commonplace in Sweden, where only about 1 percent of homes

have carpeted floors. But it is uncommon in U.S. bedrooms, so it may not be

related to autism among American children. However, carpeting contains other

contaminants, including pesticides and brominated flame retardants, which

have been found to harm brain development in animal tests.

 

 

The scientists said their new finding **suggests that studies of other

chemical contaminants with endocrine disruptor properties might yield useful

insights into the genesis of** autism.

 

 

Previously, three studies in California have found a connection between

children’s exposure to household or agricultural pesticides and autism.

 

 

Rates of autism in California have increased seven-fold since 1990, a recent

study found. Because genetics do not change that quickly, scientists suspect

that chemical pollutants are probably playing a role. But there have been

few studies attempting to pinpoint which chemicals, or combination of

chemicals.

 

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