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Air pollution negatively affects children's cognitive development
Children attending schools with higher traffic-related air pollution experienced smaller improvements in cognitive development compared with children attending schools with lower air pollution, according to study findings in PLoS Medicine.
“Children spend a large proportion of their day at school,” study researcher Jordi Sunyer, PhD, of the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology in Barcelona, and colleagues wrote. “Many schools are located in close proximity to busy roads, which increases the level of traffic-related air pollution in schools and impairs children’s respiratory health.”
To investigate the relationship between exposure to traffic-related air pollutants at school and cognitive development, researchers conducted a prospective study among 2,715 children (mean age at baseline, 8.5 years) from 39 schools in Barcelona. Children completed computerized tests four times during the study period to determine long-term changes in working memory and attention. To assess traffic-related air pollution, elemental carbon, nitrogen dioxide and ultrafine particle number levels inside and outside of participating schools were measured twice during 1-week periods 6 months apart.
Traffic-related air pollution levels were significantly different among schools, according to researchers. Socioeconomic status was comparable between schools exposed to higher and lower levels of air pollution. Low-exposed schools, however, were more likely to be public, have more green space and were farther from well-traveled roads vs. high-exposed schools.
There was a 5.3 point difference in working memory between low- and high-exposure schools at baseline, and after 1 year, this difference increased to 9.9 points (4.1%; 95% CI, 1.5%-6.8%).
Over the 12-month study period, children from schools with higher air pollution had lower improvement in working memory compared with children from schools with lower air pollution (7.4% vs. 11.5%). Researchers observed similar effects for superior working memory and inattentiveness.
“Overall, we have shown that children attending schools with higher levels of exposure to traffic-related air pollutants had a smaller growth in cognitive development over time, suggesting that traffic-related air pollution in schools negatively affects cognitive development,” Sunyer and colleagues concluded. “This may have consequences for learning, school achievement and behavior. With regard to air pollution regulation, the present study shows that the developing brain may be vulnerable to certain traffic-related air pollutants.” – by Amanda Oldt
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
