Rebecca Skloot just facebooked this story:
Scientists Find 'Baffling' Link between Autism and Vinyl Flooring
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.
Obviously its been out for a few days, but I had not noticed it.
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that is why I never had my kids vaccinated against vinyl flooring.
sarcastico,
I don't find that amusing.
This appears to be a serious study. I am sure more will follow.
Link != causation. Yet.
Remember Night Lights in your Child's Room being Linked to Nearsightedness?. It turns out that Having nearsighted parents causes nearsightedness, more than any other factor. That, and chance. And nearsighted parents tend to put night lights in that kid's rooms so they can see better at night.
I goofed up the links. Here they are, hopefully correct:
Night-light may lead to nearsightedness (CNN, 1999)
Do Night Lights Cause Nearsightedness? (education.com)
Correlation != causation. Even the scientists who presented this result have been reported as saying this and cautioning that the result most likely means little. (I read this a little while ago on another blog. It's been widely reported since and the general media seem to be doing their usual best to be ignorant of the nature of correlations.)
What's the deal with Parquet?
Am I safe to go ahead and impregnate my wife?
Or should we go out on the lawn to do it?
It's actually willingness to do it on the lawn that is the risk factor. Vinyl flooring is just a proxy for that.