Association of air pollution exposure during pregnancy and early childhood with children's cognitive performance and behavior at age six

Narumi Tokuda; Rina Ishikawa; Yoshiko Yoda; Shin Araki; Hikari Shimadera; Masayuki Shima

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2023.116733

Association of air pollution exposure during pregnancy and early childhood with children's cognitive performance and behavior at age six

Environ Res. 2023 Nov 1;236(Pt 1):116733. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116733. Epub 2023 Jul 26.

Authors

Narumi Tokuda¹, Rina Ishikawa², Yoshiko Yoda³, Shin Araki⁴, Hikari Shimadera⁴, Masayuki Shima⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya, 663-8501, Japan; Hyogo Regional Center for the Japan Environment and Children's Study, Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya, 663-8501, Japan.
² Hyogo Regional Center for the Japan Environment and Children's Study, Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya, 663-8501, Japan.
³ Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya, 663-8501, Japan.
⁴ Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, 565-0871, Japan.
⁵ Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya, 663-8501, Japan; Hyogo Regional Center for the Japan Environment and Children's Study, Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya, 663-8501, Japan. Electronic address: shima-m@hyo-med.ac.jp.

PMID: 37507042
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116733

Abstract

Background: The impact of air pollution on neurodevelopment in children has attracted much attention in recent times. We aim to clarify the association between prenatal and postnatal air pollutant exposure and children's cognitive performance and behavior at age six.

Methods: This study was conducted based on a birth cohort study in Japan. Children's intelligence quotient (IQ) was assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children and a score <85 was deemed as low intelligence. A score ≥60 on the Child Behavior Checklist indicated behavioral problems. Exposure to outdoor fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) during pregnancy and early childhood was estimated using a spatiotemporal model, while indoor concentrations of air pollutants inside subjects' homes were measured for a week when the child was of ages 1.5 and 3. The associations of exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and after childbirth with cognitive performance and behavior were analyzed using logistic regression models.

Results: The estimated exposure to outdoor PM_2.5 during pregnancy and early childhood was not associated with decreased cognitive performance. However, exposure during the first trimester, 0-1 and 3-5 years of age was associated with children's externalizing problems (odds ratios (ORs) were 2.77 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05-7.29], 1.66 [95%CI: 1.05-2.62], and 1.80 [95%CI: 1.19-2.74] per interquartile range (IQR) increase, respectively). Exposure to indoor PM_2.5 and coarse particles after childbirth was associated with lower full scale IQ (ORs were 1.46 [95%CI: 1.03-2.08] and 1.85 [95%CI: 1.12-3.07] per IQR increase, respectively). However, some inverse associations were also observed.

Conclusions: These results suggest associations between prenatal and postnatal exposure to outdoor air pollution and behavioral problems, and between indoor air pollution after childbirth and cognitive performance at age six. However, the effects of exposure to outdoor PM_2.5 during pregnancy on cognitive performance were not observed.

Keywords: Air pollution; Behavioral problem; Children; Cognitive performance; Fine particulate matter; Indoor air pollutant.