據《每日郵報》10月22日報道，研究者們發現，環境污染可能會導致自閉癥。

They say children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were more likely to have been exposed to higher levels of certain air toxics during their mothers' pregnancies and the first two years of life compared.

他們說，患有自閉癥譜系障礙(ASD)兒童更多地是在母親孕期和出生頭兩年接觸了高濃度的毒性空氣污染物。

The find could help explain the rise in cases.

這一發現可以幫助解釋兒童自閉病例的增加。

The investigation of children in southwestern Pennsylvania will be presented today at the American Association for Aerosol Research annual meeting in Orlando.

奧蘭多舉行的美國氣溶膠研究協會（the American Association for Aerosol Research）年度會議將公布對賓夕法尼亞西南部兒童的調查結果。

'Autism spectrum disorders are a major public health problem, and their prevalence has increased dramatically,' said Evelyn Talbott of Pitt Public Health, who led the research.

該項研究的負責人，匹茲堡大學公共健康中心（Pitt Public Health）的伊芙琳·塔爾博特（Evelyn Talbott）說，“自閉癥譜系障礙是重要的公共健康問題，而且發病率在急劇增加”。

'Despite its serious social impact, the causes of autism are poorly understood.

“盡管自閉癥譜系障礙產生嚴重的社會影響，但是人們對其成因卻知之甚少。”

'Very few studies of autism have included environmental exposures while taking into account other personal and behavioral risk factors.

“自閉癥研究通常考慮到的是個人或行為因素，只有極少數的研究將環境影響納入在內。”'

'Our analysis is an addition to the small but growing body of research that considers air toxics as one of the risk factors for ASD.'

“我們的研究是對成長中兒童患自閉癥研究的補充，而且該項研究認為毒性空氣污染物是自閉癥譜系障礙的危險因素之一。”

Dr. Talbott and her colleagues performed a population-based study of families with and without ASD living in six southwestern Pennsylvania counties.

塔爾博特博士和她的同事進行了一項以家庭為單位的研究，研究對象為賓夕法尼亞西南部6個縣有自閉癥和無自閉癥家人的家庭。

The researchers found links between increased levels of chromium and styrene and childhood autism spectrum disorder, a condition that affects one in 68 children.

研究者們發現，高濃度的鉻和苯乙烯和68個兒童中就有一個患有的兒童自閉癥相關聯。

'This study brings us a step closer toward understanding why autism affects so many families in the Pittsburgh region and nationwide – and reinforces in sobering detail that air quality matters,' said Grant Oliphant, president of The Heinz Endowments.

海因茨基金（The Heinz Endowments）主席格蘭特•奧列芬特（Grant Oliphant）說：“這項研究讓我們進一步了解到，為何匹茲堡地區乃至全國有如此之多的家庭有自閉癥患者，也讓我們清醒地認識到，空氣質量非常重要”。

'Our aspirations for truly becoming the most livable city cannot be realized if our children's health is threatened by dangerous levels of air toxics.

“如果兒童健康都受到空氣中有毒物質的威脅，那成為最宜居的城市的愿望也就無法實現。”

'Addressing this issue must remain one of our region's top priorities.'

“關注這一問題必將是匹茲堡地區最重要的工作之一。”

Autism spectrum disorders are a range of conditions characterized by social deficits and communication difficulties that typically become apparent early in childhood.

自閉癥譜系障礙的特點是在兒童早期就表現出社會交往障礙和語言交流障礙。

Reported cases of ASD have risen nearly eight-fold in the last two decades.

過去二十年，已報告的自閉癥病例增加了八倍。

While previous studies have shown the increase to be partially due to changes in diagnostic practices and greater public awareness of autism, this does not fully explain the increased prevalence.

盡管之前的研究顯示，報告的自閉癥病例的增加是由于診斷方法的改變和公眾對自閉癥的關注增加，但是這也無法詳細解釋這種上升的趨勢。

Both genetic and environmental factors are believed to be partially responsible.

基因和環境因素也被認為對自閉癥病例的增加負有一定的責任。

'Our results add to the growing body of evidence linking environmental exposures, such as air pollution, to ASD,' said Dr. Talbott.

塔爾博特博士說，我們的研究結果證明了環境接觸，例如接觸空氣污染，會使成長中的兒童患上自閉癥。

'The next step will be confirming our findings with studies that measure the specific exposure to air pollutants at an individual level to verify these EPA-modeled estimates.'

“下一步的研究將會證明接觸空氣污染物的研究結果。這項研究將測量個體接觸的空氣污染物，來核實環境保護署的預測結果。”