Women who smoke during pregnancy may be more likely to give birth to children who develop a mild form of autism – such as Asperger’s syndrome, say researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
This correlation was observed by Professor Amy Kalkbrenner during a study conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. As she explains, some diseases on the so-called autistic spectrum are more closely linked than others to a mother’s smoking during pregnancy.
Although the harm of smoking during pregnancy is widely known, it is still a serious problem in the US. As many as 13 per cent of participating mothers smoked during pregnancy (this is evidenced by data from the birth certificates of thousands of children from 11 states. Of the 633,989 children born in 1992, 94 , 96 and 98, 3315 had autism spectrum disorders by the age of 8. The authors of the study emphasise that while smoking has not been proven to cause autism, the link is clear.
Source
- https://www.medonet.pl/zdrowie/wiadomosci,palenie-w-czasie-ciazy-sprzyja-autyzmowi,artykul,1660206.html
