Exposure to Air Pollution During Pregnancy Linked to Neurodevelopmental Issues

Prenatal exposure to air pollution in the first and second trimesters was associated with lower scores for cognitive development at ages 1 and 3 according to a new study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. These findings add to a large body of evidence on the vulnerability of the fetal developmental period to air pollution. The study is published in the journal Environmental Health.

“These findings underscore the need for stronger policies to protect pregnant individuals and offspring, particularly during vulnerable, early life-stage of development,” says first author Frederica Perera, DrPH, PhD, director of the Program in Translational Research at the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

The researchers followed 470 African American and Latina mother/child pairs in a prospective cohort study based in low-income communities of Northern Manhattan and the South Bronx. Gestational exposure to respirable particulate matter (PM_2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) was assessed in relation to cognitive and motor development assessed at ages 1, 2, and 3 years.

Co-authors include Yuqi Miao, Virginia Rauh, Amy Margolis, Lori Hoepner, Kylie W. Riley, Julie Herbstman, and Shuang Wang at Columbia University; Zev Ross at Zev Ross Spatial Analysis.

The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and Environmental Protection Agency (NIH UG3OD023290, UH3OD023290; NIH/EPA P01ES09600/RD82702701, P01ES09600/RD832141, P01ES09600/RD834509, P50ES09600/RD83615401, NIH R01ES014393, NIH RC2ES018784, NIH R01ES13163, NIH R01ES08977, NIH R24ES029489), the New York Community Trust, Trustees of the Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, and the John and Wendy Neu Foundation.