14 DAY TRIAL // Last year, in October, the World Health Organization labeled air pollution a leading cause of cancer. As surprising as this may sound, it appears that the toxic compounds found in the air people breathe can also influence behavior.
Thus, researchers writing in a recent issue of the scientific journal PLOS ONE argue that, according to evidence at hand, exposure to air pollutants can cause kids to misbehave.
More precisely, they claim that children born to mothers who had no choice but breathe in dirty air while pregnant are more likely to display behavior problems previously linked to ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).
How air pollution influences behavior
Eurek Alert tells us that, as part of their investigation into the link between exposure to air pollutants and behavior trouble, researchers with the University of Columbia in the US monitored several women and their children for several years in a row.
All in all, the scientists kept tabs on 233 nonsmoking women and their kids since pregnancy and up until childhood. Apart from studying the kids' behavior, the team closely documented the mothers' prenatal exposure to specific air pollutants.
As detailed in the journal PLOS ONE, the air pollutants that this investigation focused on are known to the scientific community as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs, for short). Such compounds hit the environment when coal, oil, gas or garbage is burned.
The University of Columbia researchers explain that, when compared to kids born to mothers who did not breathe in PAHs during pregnancy, those who were exposed to these compounds while still in the womb were 5 times more likely to display ADHD-related behavior problems.
This is yet to be confirmed, but scientists suspect that exposure to PAHs influences the behavior of children by disrupting the endocrine system. It is possible that the compounds also cause DNA damage and oxidative stress, and maybe even limit access to oxygen and nutrients.
The importance of this study
According to specialists with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some 10% of the kids now living in this country have ADHD. Admittedly, their genetic makeup could also be to blame for their condition, but as it turns out, environmental factors are not to be neglected either.
Hence, the University of Columbia specialists behind this investigation recommend that efforts be made to limit air pollutants and thus reduce the amount of harmful compounds women and their unborn children are exposed to while walking around one city or another.
“This study suggests that exposure to PAH encountered in New York City air may play a role in childhood ADHD," study lead author Frederica Perera, DrPH, PhD, said in a statement. Furthermore, “The findings are concerning because attention problems are known to impact school performance, social relationships, and occupational performance.”