Scientists Find 'Baffling' Link between Autism and Vinyl Flooring

[Sgent]

Source: Scientific American

Children who live in homes with vinyl floors, which can emit chemicals called phthalates, are more likely to have autism, according to research by Swedish and U.S. scientists published Monday.

The study of Swedish children is among the first to find an apparent connection between an environmental chemical and autism.

The scientists were surprised by their finding, calling it "far from conclusive." Because their research was not designed to focus on autism, they recommend further study of larger numbers of children to see whether the link can be confirmed.

Bernard Weiss, a professor of environmental medicine at University of Rochester and a co-author of the study, said the connection between vinyl flooring and autism "turned up virtually by accident." He called it "intriguing and baffling at the same time."

Read more: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=link-between-autism-and-vinyl

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Don't worry, we won't investigate this for years because we are spending a boatload of money still investigating the disproven autism / vaccine link.

Edit... disproven maybe too strong a word, as science can't generally prove a negative. That said, there have been a boatload of well designed studies, of large groups, in multiple nations, that have failed to find a correlation, much less causation.

[Teaser]

1. more worried about the autism/anti-depressant link

at least, we had a researcher present a lecture here a couple of months ago touting some data to that effect.

[bertman]

3. Teaser, please elaborate on this. I have a family member who is autistic. Thanks.

[Teaser]

16. I'll answer you in mail

because the data is not published yet, and I don't want to jump this researcher's scoop.

[KamaAina]

27. In that case, you may be interested in DU's Asperger's/PDD Group

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=387

[bertman]

31. Thank you, KamaAina. Looks like there's lots to read about over there.

[bitchkitty]

22. But aren't anti-depressants much more recent than autism?

Autism has been around for a while - at least since I was six, and one of my parents' friends had an autistic child.

The rate certainly has climbed, though. Along with many other illnesses.

[JerseygirlCT]

29. The tricyclics are pretty old, aren't they?

The SSRIs are newer, to be sure.

[Kolesar]

2. There was a story about phthalates and rubber duckies on today's Morning Edition on NPR.

phthalates were banned.

[WriteDown]

4. If you're a kid who has been vaccinated and has a vinyl

kitchen floor. You are SCREWED! :)

[Ian David]

11. Don't forget the dihydrogen monoxide. n/t

[Exultant Democracy]

20. I was almost suspended in high school for hanging signs above the water-fountains

that said they contained high levels of dihydrogen monoxide... good times

[pam4water]

5. I went to University of Rochester. I don't belive any study thery are a part of.

[Jefferson23]

6. That is a strong statement, could you elaborate on that please.

[pam4water]

13. It was partly tongue in cheak. When I was there they were running a study on

the cold virus. They concluded the exposure to cold temperature had no effect on weather or not you came down with the common cold. But as far as I could tell they only has young health people in the study i.e. me and my class mates. I don't think sample was representative and I did think much of their testing methods.

They fessed up recently to injecting black prison inmates in the 1950s with radiative isotopes as a test, but they weren't sure what they were testing. It seemed to just be for shits.

They sent equipment to Pakistani that probably ended up in their nuclear program. But the US government probably brokered that deal.

I got mono during the school year and could not keep fluids down for over a week. I ended up the U of R Hospital. All they had to do we keep an IV in me and they manged to screw that up. The stay there was a night mare that I'm not talking about any further.


Read Molly Ivins' books or Harvest for Hope by Jane Goodall and you'll take all studies with a grain of salt.

[sharp_stick]

8. Got kicked out? n/t

[pam4water]

9. Nope graduated suma cuma laude with two degrees in 4 years :P I don't think anyone ever got kicked

out of Rachacah. Oh and screw you too.

[Dreamer Tatum]

23. Not since you left, though, huh?

Did someone there disagree with you, or something?

Dismissing a major research university altogether will get you some snark in return.

[pam4water]

25. Well universities are not sacrosanct they've been hollowed out and corrupted like everyone other

institution in this country. They push Milton Friedman's Laissez-faire deregulate everything economics theory hard one everyone. It wasn't teaching it was indoctrinate. How is the less someone know about something the more they want to sick up for it. And I would not call it major.

[doc03]

7. So now we ban vinyl floors, we go in and remove it

from the schools hospitals and all our homes costing billions. Then 5 years from now they decide it wasn't the vinyl floors after all, it was the floor wax. Now you see why I question the claims that CO2 causes global climate change?

[bunnies]

10. Everyone knows (or should know) that plastic is a horrific poison but...

Does the increase in autism diagnosis correlate to an increase in vinyl flooring? I seem to remember that everyone had vinyl flooring when I was a kid, yet the cases of autism were fewer... :shrug:

[Ian David]

12. It could be that parents with recessive autism genes prefer to purchase vinyl floors.

Maybe they find the repeating geometric patterns of vinyl floors interesting or comforting.

[earcandle]

14. What about those tennis shoes made out of tire scraps?

I bet a lot of us get sick from the gas of the chemicals of
recycled tires used for those high priced tennis shoes that
airlift us when running.  I imagine the heat cooks something
up into the body.

[bunnies]

18. Now *that* would be an interesting study.

:thumbsup:

[underpants]

15. Who and when was the decision to make this okay done?

I don't know.

I am sure the vinyl industry was well heard.

This is back to what, the 50's? Pre War?

[bunnies]

19. Make what ok? Vinyl floors?

The vinyl / plastic industry will never be officially blamed for this. Baby bottles = plastic. Shower curtains = plastic. Know that smell when you unwrap one? Toxic fumes...

We're surrounded by the crap!

[earcandle]

26. Probably why Howard Hughes never left his apt, for fear of reprisal for letting loose plastics

[kimmerspixelated]

28. Bunnies has a point!

And when we were kids, seems like there were fewer vaccines that were required....hmmm?

[Overseas]

17. Phthalates are used in lots of products

FROM WIKIPEDIA

Phthalates are used in a large variety of products, from enteric coatings of pharmaceutical pills to viscosity control agents, gelling agents, film formers, stabilizers, dispersants, lubricants, binders, emulsifying agents, and suspending agents. End applications include adhesives and glues, agricultural adjuvants, building materials, personal care products, detergents and surfactants, plastic objects, paints, printing inks and coatings, pharmaceuticals, food products and textiles.

Phthalates are also frequently used in soft plastic fishing lures, nail polish, adhesives, caulk, paint pigments, and sex toys made of so-called "jelly rubber." Phthalates are used in a variety of household applications (shower curtains, adhesives, perfume), modern electronics and medical applications such as catheters. The most widely-used phthalates are the di-2-ethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP), the diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and the diisononyl phthalate (DINP). DEHP is the dominant plasticizer used in PVC, due to its low cost. Benzylbutylphthalate (BBzP) is used in the manufacture of foamed PVC, which is mostly used as a flooring material. Phthalates with small R and R' groups are used as solvents in perfumes and pesticides.

As of 2004, manufacturers produced about 363 thousand metric tonnes (800 million pounds or 400 000 short tons) of phthalates each year.

[kiranon]

21. Have 2 autistic children ages 10 and 9 and no vinyl floors whatsoever.

My children are adopted and I know at least one of their birth mothers and probably both were on anti depressants. My floors are stone, marble, wood and carpet. I would have to see other materials with the chemical in it and I doubt I have those materials either. My biological children do not have autism. I really doubt the vinyl theory.

[NoodleyAppendage]

24. A correlated with B correlated with C

There's a big leap between vinyl flooring and autism. It could also be that there is a more important moderating variable ("B"), which is associated with autism and vinyl flooring.

J

[DainBramaged]

30. It's the Twinkies

If we hadn't eaten so many growing up, our genes would be fine, it's the chemicals that give Twinkies 20 year shelf life that screwed the pooch.