Pregnant mothers who gave birth to boys with autism were found to have had higher levels of a plastic chemical commonly used in food packaging in their wombs, according to Aussie scientists in a world-first study.
A long-term peer-reviewed study by the Florey Institute in Melbourne found boys with lower levels of a key brain enzyme aromatase and who were born to mothers with high levels of the plastic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in their wombs are three-and-a-half times more likely to have autism symptoms by the age of two.
By the age of 11, they are six times more likely to have had a verified autism diagnosis.
BPA can be found in takeaway containers, plastic bottles, the lining of takeaway coffee cups as well as polycarbonate (hard) plastics such as baby bottles.
It’s also used in the lining of cans to stop the food coming into contact with the metal, and is even found on the shiny coating of cash register receipts.
“Exposure to plastic chemicals during pregnancy has already been shown in some studies to be associated with subsequent autism in offspring,” Florey scientist and co-author Professor Anne-Louise Ponsonby said in a statement.
“BPA can disrupt hormone controlled male fetal brain development in several ways, including silencing a key enzyme, aromatase, that controls neurohormones and is especially important in fetal male brain development. This appears to be part of the autism puzzle.”
