Pregnant mother's exposure to air pollution possibly linked to baby's brain alterations

WASHINGTON, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A new study performed in the Netherlands has linked exposure to residential air pollution during fetal life with brain abnormalities that may contribute to impaired cognitive function in school-age children.

The study, published Thursday in the journal Biological Psychiatry, showed for the first time a relationship between air pollution exposure and a difficulty with children inhibitory control.

The inhibitory control is an ability to regulate self-control over temptations and impulsive behavior, which is related to mental health problems such as addictive behavior and attention-deficit or hyperactivity disorder.

Exposure to fine particles during fetal life was associated with a thinner cortex in several areas of both brain hemispheres, which is one of the factors that may explain the observed impairment in inhibitory control, according to the study.

The study used a population-based cohort in the Netherlands, and assessed air pollution levels at home during the fetal life of 783 children. Brain morphology was assessed using brain imaging performed when the children were between six and 10 years old.

The data included levels of nitrogen dioxide and fine particles.

The relationship between fine particle exposure, brain structure alterations, and inhibitory control was found despite the fact that the average residential levels of fine particles in the study were well below the current European Union limit.

It showed that only 0.5 percent of the pregnant women in the study were exposed to levels considered unsafe. The average residential levels of nitrogen dioxide were also right at the safe limit.

"Therefore, we cannot warrant the safety of the current levels of air pollution in our cities," said lead author Monica Guxens, a researcher of Barcelona Institute for Global Health in Spain and Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands.

"The observed cognitive delays at early ages could have significant long-term consequences such as increased risk of mental health disorders and low academic achievement, in particular due to the ubiquity of the exposure," said Guxens. Enditem