Autism, smoking, and ... vinyl floors?

Intriguing study discoveres a link between autism and vinyl flooring.

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

Experts suspect that genetic and environmental factors combine to cause autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder that has increased dramatically in children over the past 20 years.


In the new study, Swedish families were asked questions about flooring as part of research investigating allergies and indoor air pollutants. Phthalates, used to make soft plastic, have in previous studies been connected to allergies and asthma."

Bizarre. Of course, like any study, this one must be taken with a grain of salt. It may be, for instance, that people of a certain economic status happened to have the vinyl flooring, or folks from a particular part of the country.  Still, it's fascinating.

I find this tid-bit a lot more compelling:

"Children in the study also were twice as likely to have autism if their mothers smoked cigarettes. The autistic children also were more likely to have asthma."

I wonder if there is a whole tie-in to allergies/asthma and autism?