There’s another reason we need to prevent air pollution.
A new study has found that a common pollution in vehicle exhaust, power plant emissions and cigarette smoke can put unborn babies at risk, even leading them to show symptoms of anxiety and depression by age seven, according to the U.K’s Daily Mail.
The pollutant can shrink white matter in fetal brains and cause developmental damage during the toddler years, according to the LA Times.
“This is the largest MRI study to date of how early life exposure to air pollutants, specifically PAH, affect the developing mind,” stated professor of pediatrics and psychiatry Bradley Peterson.
He added, “Our findings suggest that PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) are contributors to ADHD and other behavioral problems due to the pollutants’ disruptive effects on early brain development.”
The recent study reportedly involved 655 New York City women of Dominican and African American descent who gave birth between 1997 and 2006. During late pregnancy, the participants reportedly carried detector backpacks that measured exposure to PAHs over 48 hours.
Their children were reportedly later tested for exposure and underwent several rounds of cognitive and behavioral testing. Researchers reportedly found that the left side of the brain seemed to be affected more than the right.
“It’s a double hit,” stated Peterson.
He continued, “They have the abnormality from prenatal life throughout the left hemisphere and then on top of that they have this bilateral front hit from exposures around age 5.”
The recent study reportedly showed that pollution can cause developmental delays by the age of three and reduce verbal IQ at five.
“Our findings raise important concerns about the effects of air pollutants on brain development in children, and the consequences of those brain effects on cognition and behavior,” stated Peterson.
He added, “If confirmed, our findings have important public health implications, given the ubiquity of PAH in air pollutants in the general population.”
