妊婦吸う たばこで増える 自閉症
自閉症 妊婦のたばこで ４割増
Smoking during pregnancy linked to autism
2002-07-03 11:32:21 -0400 (Reuters Health) NEW YORK :
Epidemiology 2002;13:417-423. 川柳（５）へ戻る
Mothers who smoke during pregnancy may increase the risk that their child will have autism, preliminary study findings suggest. Autism, which affects about 1 in every 500 children, impairs a person's ability to communicate and form relationships with other people. Autism may also affect the ability to respond to sights, sounds and touch. Though some children with the disorder are mentally impaired, about one-third are "high-functioning," meaning that they have a normal or near-normal IQ. Health experts believe genetics probably plays the largest role in the development of autism, but environmental factors can't be ruled out. In the current investigation, lead author Dr. Christina M. Hultman of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden and colleagues evaluated the cases of 408 children born in Sweden between 1974 and 1993 who were diagnosed with autism. They were compared with 2,040 children born during the same period who did not have autism. The children of mothers who smoked on a daily basis in early pregnancy had a 40% greater risk of being autistic, the researchers report in the July issue of the journal Epidemiology. "The long-term effects of fetal exposure to cigarette smoking on subsequent cognitive and physical development of the child are less clearly understood, but smoking has been associated with several childhood behaviors, including impulsive behavior, conduct disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder," the authors write. In other findings, children delivered by C-section had a 60% increased autism risk, while babies small for their gestational age had slightly more than double the risk of autism of normal-size infants. The researchers are calling for more studies to examine both genetic and possible environmental causes of autism. SOURCE: Epidemiology 2002;13:417-423. Copyright c 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
喫煙する妊婦から出産した児は自閉症になる危険が増加する
と予想されます。自閉症は子供５００人につき１人の割合で発見
されます。自閉症ではコミュニケーションや人間関係を保つ能力
が障害されます。自閉症は視覚、聴覚、触覚刺激に対する反応
が障害されるかもしれません。障害を持つ子供たちの３分の１は
正常か、正常に近い、高いIQを持っています。
医学専門家は自閉症の発生には遺伝が関与していると考えてい
ますが、環境因子を除外することは出来ません。
Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden のDr. Christina M.
Hultman さんは、1974年から1993年の間に生まれた４０８人の
自閉症と診断された子供たちと、同じ期間に生まれた２０４０人
の自閉症でない子供たちとを比較検討しました。
妊娠初期に毎日タバコを吸っていた母親から生まれた子供たちは
自閉症を発症する危険が４０％も増加することが明らかになりまし
た。この研究はEpidemiology ６月号に掲載されます。
著者は言いました。
「妊婦の喫煙が胎児に及ぼす長期的影響は、精神や肉体の発育
に及ぼす影響は完全に解明されてはいませんが、喫煙が子供の
行動に影響を及ぼすことが知られており、衝動的行動、混乱
（conduct disorder）、注意障害、多動などと関係があります。」
その他の発見として、帝王切開は自閉症の危険を６０％増加させる
ことや、妊娠週数に比較して小さい児は自閉症の危険が２倍になる
ことも明らかにされました。研究者は、自閉症の原因解明のために、
遺伝のみならず環境面からの研究も必要であると結論しました。