Long-term research in New York shows efforts to reduce air pollution associated with higher cognitive test scores

Improvements in air pollution are leading to brighter, smarter toddlers, according to a new study from Columbia University in New York.

For more than two decades, Prof Frederica Perera and a team from the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health measured the air pollution exposure of pregnant women and the development of their children in the disadvantaged communities of northern Manhattan and the South Bronx. More than 1,100 children were assessed when they were one, two and three years old.

Perera said: “We tested cognitive processing including memory and sensory perception, problem-solving such as matching shapes, stacking blocks and communication, both speech and language comprehension. In the early years of the study, we reported significant associations between prenatal exposure to air pollution and neurodevelopment effects in the children. That was bad news.”