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Study Links Wildfire Smoke in Pregnancy to Autism Risk

Exposure to wildfire smoke during the third trimester increased autism risk by up to 23% in children, based on over 200,000 births analyzed in Southern California.

  • On Tuesday, researchers from Kaiser Permanente Southern California and partners published the first study linking prenatal wildfire smoke exposure to higher autism risk after analyzing over 200,000 Southern California births.
  • The third trimester, David Luglio said, is a critical period of rapid fetal brain growth when PM2.5 in wildfire smoke can enter the bloodstream and cause inflammation and stress.
  • Using home-address PM2.5 modeling, the team found autism risk increased about 10% for 1 smoky day, 12% for 6 to 10 days, and 23% for more than 10 days, especially among nonmovers.
  • Authors urged minimizing smoke exposure during wildfires and following public-health guidance, while study authors cautioned that exposure estimates relied on outdoor models and said more research is needed.
  • With climate change increasing wildfire frequency, the study follows Eaton and Palisades fires that destroyed more than 16,000 structures and involves Kaiser Permanente Southern California, University of Southern California, Harvard University, and Sonoma Technology.
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Telemundo 20 broke the news in on Tuesday, January 20, 2026.
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