Air pollution causes children to learn ignorance

Children who live near heavily polluted roads have lower IQ and score worse on tests, compared to children who breathe fresh air.

The impact of pollution on intelligence is similar to that of children whose mothers smoked 10 cigarettes a day during pregnancy, or as lead-contaminated children, Dr. Shakira Franco Suglia from Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, said.

East island car on a street in downtown Beijing.(Photo: Reuters)

Although the effects of pollution on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems have been extensively studied, little is known about its impact on the brain.

To investigate this problem, Suglia and colleagues studied 202 Boston babies aged 8 to 11, who also participated in a study of mothers' smoking effects. They establish a link between cognitive indicators and the extent to which children are exposed to carbon black - an ingredient in exhaust emissions of motor vehicles, especially from diesel vehicles. As a result, children who are exposed to the most carbon black also have lower scores in intelligence tests.

Suglia and colleagues speculate that traffic pollution can affect by increasing oxidative damage and burning the brain. They also called for more research into the effects of pollution on the development of intelligence and cognitive decline of people of all ages.