Prenatal exposure to the plastic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) is associated with increased risk of autism in boys, according to a new study.
Researchers at an Australian university looked at two large birth cohorts in Australia and the US, and found that higher levels of exposure to BPA in utero, as indicated by BPA levels in maternal urine samples, were associated with significantly increased risks of autism diagnoses during childhood.
Boys exposed to higher BPA levels in late pregnancy were 3.5 times more likely to have autism symptoms by the age of 2 that boys whose mothers had lower levels of BPA in their urine, and six times more like to have a verified autism diagnosis by the age of 11.
The researchers were able to show, through rodent experiments, that BPA appears to have these effects, at least in part, by deactivating the important enzyme aromatase, which is responsible for converting the hormone testosterone into estrogen. […]
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