Polluted air reduces IQ in children

Children from neighborhoods where there is a lot of air pollution, have lower test results in IQ tests than children from neighborhoods where the air is clean. The effect of polluted air is comparable to that of a mother smoking 10 cigarettes daily during her pregnancy.

That breathing in polluted air is bad for your health has been known for longer, but no it is also shown that it has a great impact on the development of the brain. The more exhaust fumes children breath in, the lower their intelligence. Also their memory and language skills were worse than those of children that breathed primarily clean air.

The study was performed at Harvard University in Boston. More than 200 children of around 10 years old were tested for their intelligence, memory and language levels. The results were compared with the amount of exhaust fumes in the neighborhoods of the children. Also other factors were compensated for, like the level of education of the parents.

If exhaust fumes also have negative effect on the brains of adults is not known.

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