Children and pollution: Let's do something before it's too late

A pollution study investigated the impact on children's cognitive development. The first repercussions are on attention and memory.

As stated by the biologist Eugene F. Stoermer, we have been living for more than a century now in the era of the Anthropocene, a term that indicates the current geological era, in which the main causes of territorial changes are attributed to human beings and their activities , structural and climatic.

We also live in a historical moment where consciences seem to have woken up in the fight against pollution and in the defense of nature (as shown by the recent climate demonstrations for Fridays for future and the results of the Greens in the European elections).

Pollution: the influence on children's health

Unfortunately, to see the concrete changes we must wait again and alas, a lot of damage has already been done. Many studies have already suggested how exposure to air pollution in early childhood can be linked to cognitive dysfunction.

To these is added a recent research carried out by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).

It has been discovered that children exposed to PM 2.5 (particles with a diameter less than 2.5 μm) in the uterus and during the first years of life have a greater risk of developing deficits in working memory (in boys) and executive attention (both in boys and girls).

Pollution: the study that investigates its influence on cognitive development

The research, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, involved 2,221 children (aged 7 to 10) attending schools in the city of Barcelona.

Children's cognitive abilities were assessed through various computerized tests. Exposure to air pollution, at home during pregnancy and during childhood, was estimated with a mathematical model using real measurements.

The researchers found that increased exposure to PM 2.5 from pregnancy to age 7 was associated with lower working memory scores in cognitive tests, in children aged 7 to 10 years (found only in males).

The working memory is responsible for the temporary storage of information for further use and plays a fundamental role in learning, reasoning, problem solving and language understanding.

Pollution and cognitive development of children: the results of the study

The study also found that increased exposure to particulate matter was associated with a reduction in executive attention in both boys and girls.

Executive attention is one of the three networks that constitute a person's attention span. It is involved in high-level attention, error detection, response inhibition and the regulation of thoughts and feelings.

This publication reinforces previous findings and confirms that exposure to air pollution at the beginning of life and during childhood can be considered a threat to cognitive development and an obstacle that prevents children from reaching their full potential.

by Adriano Mauro Ellena