Study finds possible air pollution link to autism

This study in fact had NO DATA on air pollution.  They just used addresses as a proxy, a very inexact and error-prone  procedure. 

There are some sensible comments at the foot of the article below

A new report has indicated that exposure to traffic-related air pollution during pregnancy and infancy may be linked to an increased risk of autism.

Researchers from the University of Southern California monitored the relationship between air quality and autism.

This study used the addresses of mothers in the US state to estimate their exposure to pollution while pregnant and with a young child.

The report found children living in homes with the highest levels of traffic-related air pollution were three times more likely to have autism, compared to those with lower exposure.

Exposure was most risky during the mother's pregnancy, and in the first year of a child's life.

Australian researchers say the results warrant more study and have urged parents not to panic.

Professor Andrew Whitehouse from the Telethon Institute of Child Health Research says the results back up earlier studies in the field.

"It's a very interesting finding there is no doubt about that," he said.  "We've known for many years that there is likely to be at least a handful of environmental causes that may contribute to autism."

However, Professor Whitehouse says the new findings raise a number of questions.  "My message to parents is don't panic," he said.   "This study did not find that air pollution causes autism. What they've found is an association with autism.

"We need to direct further research into finding out whether this is lifestyle factors or nutritional factors, or whether it is air pollution but without that further research, we just don't know."

The study was published online in the Archives of General Psychiatry journal.

SOURCE






Homeopathy regime is rejected as judge tells parents to immunise child

Homeopathic beliefs can be a dangerous mental illness -- as shown in this case.  The mother believes in her homeopathic "vaccinations"  DESPITE the fact that her daughter got whooping cough, a very nasty and sometimes fatal illness.  Homeopathic potions are just water so have placebo value only

A JUDGE has ordered a couple to immunise their eight-year-old daughter according to government health guidelines, in a rebuke to the homeopathic regime pursued by the mother.

But the father will shoulder the cost of doing so.

The mother had sought in a injunction in the Family Court to stop the father and his partner from immunising the child without her written permission.

She made the application after discovering that her daughter's stepmother had secretly taken the child to a medical centre to have her immunised against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, polio, HIB, measles, mumps, rubella and meningococcal C.

Previously, the mother had been arranging homeopathic vaccines.

She told the court that she adhered to a "simple and healthy way of life", that included eating organic food, using non-toxic cleaning products and sending the child to a Rudolph Steiner school where the toys were made from natural products such as wool, wax and silk.

Most parents at the school focused on "building up the immune system of the child through homeopathics", she told the court.

But when the girl was five, she contracted whooping cough, and the father and his new partner became concerned that she was not vaccinated, possibly placing their new baby at risk.

The stepmother then took her to the medical centre for a course of traditional immunisations, with the support of the child's father, but without the mother's consent or knowledge.

This upset the mother, in part because it engendered feelings of disempowerment, but also because she feared the health risks of traditional immunisation.

She told the court: "The homeoprophylaxis regime is more than adequate for her needs, provides her with immunity against childhood diseases and does so in a far safer and more risk averse way."

A doctor in homeopathic medicine told the court that homeopathic vaccination was safe and effective, whereas traditional vaccination had short- and long-term risks, including a link to ADHD and autism.

But Justice Bennett accepted the evidence of a doctor at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, who said there was insufficient evidence of the effectiveness of homeopathic immunisation to justify its replacement of traditional immunisation.

The links to ADHD and autism had been disproved by studies in Scandinavia, France and the United States, the doctor said.

Justice Bennett said the risks associated with traditional immunisation did not outweigh the risks of infection.

"It appears to me that the efficacy of homeopathic vaccines in preventing infectious diseases has not been adequately scientifically demonstrated," she said.

However, the mother has lodged an appeal.

The case is one of several before the courts that involve differing philosophies over childhood vaccination.

The Federal Magistrates Court was asked to intervene between two parents disputing whether their daughter should be immunised in 2010, resulting in an order for the child to undergo the immunisation program recommended by the federal Health Department.

SOURCE