Exposure to wildfire smoke during the final months of pregnancy may increase a child’s risk of being diagnosed with autism, according to a new study led by Tulane University researchers.
The research analysed more than 200,000 births in Southern California between 2006 and 2014. It found that children whose mothers experienced more than 10 days of wildfire smoke exposure during the third trimester had a 23% higher likelihood of receiving an autism diagnosis by age five compared to those with no prenatal smoke exposure.
Sorresponding author Dr. Mostafijur Rahman, assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Tulane’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, said:’Both autism and wildfires are on the rise, and this study is just the beginning of investigating links between the two.
‘As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of wildfires in many parts of the world, understanding their relationship with autism is important to being able to develop preventive policy and interventions that will protect pregnant women and their children.’
The research does not establish a definitive causal link but adds to mounting evidence that air pollutants can harm fetal neurological development. Wildfires produce intense, short-term spikes of air pollution, releasing toxic metals and fine particles that can cause inflammation and stress when inhaled.
‘Further study is needed to understand how wildfire smoke exposure to pregnant mothers could cause autism in their children, and to determine how exposure may interact with biology, genetics and other environmental exposures,’ said lead author Dr. David Luglio, a post-doctoral fellow at Tulane. ‘This study is just one piece of a much larger puzzle, and the findings tell us there are more pieces to be put together.’
The study’s focus on California – a state leading in both wildfire acreage and childhood autism diagnoses – follows a devastating 2023 wildfire season that destroyed thousands of structures. Autism rates have risen steadily since 2000, a trend often attributed to greater awareness and screening, but also increasingly linked to environmental factors such as air pollution.
The findings align with prior research, including a 2021 Harvard study that identified late pregnancy as a critical window of vulnerability to air pollution. During the third trimester, the foetal brain undergoes rapid growth and development.
The full research can be read here.,
Photo: Alireza Attari / Unsplash
Leave a Reply