Poor air quality is associated with impaired visual cognition in the first two years of life: A longitudinal investigation
Background: Poor air quality has been linked to cognitive deficits in children, but this relationship has not been examined in the first year of life when brain growth is at its peak. Methods: We measured in-home air quality focusing on particulate matter with diameter of <2.5 μm (PM2.5) and...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2023-04-01
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| Series: | eLife |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/83876 |
| _version_ | 1827960466914148352 |
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| author | John P Spencer Samuel H Forbes Sophie Naylor Vinay P Singh Kiara Jackson Sean Deoni Madhuri Tiwari Aarti Kumar |
| author_facet | John P Spencer Samuel H Forbes Sophie Naylor Vinay P Singh Kiara Jackson Sean Deoni Madhuri Tiwari Aarti Kumar |
| author_sort | John P Spencer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Poor air quality has been linked to cognitive deficits in children, but this relationship has not been examined in the first year of life when brain growth is at its peak.
Methods: We measured in-home air quality focusing on particulate matter with diameter of <2.5 μm (PM2.5) and infants’ cognition longitudinally in a sample of families from rural India.
Results: Air quality was poorer in homes that used solid cooking materials. Infants from homes with poorer air quality showed lower visual working memory scores at 6 and 9 months of age and slower visual processing speed from 6 to 21 months when controlling for family socio-economic status.
Conclusions: Thus, poor air quality is associated with impaired visual cognition in the first two years of life, consistent with animal studies of early brain development. We demonstrate for the first time an association between air quality and cognition in the first year of life using direct measures of in-home air quality and looking-based measures of cognition. Because indoor air quality was linked to cooking materials in the home, our findings suggest that efforts to reduce cooking emissions should be a key target for intervention.
Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant OPP1164153. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T16:09:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bde810c0b68842319f4c399480f1e18a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T16:09:03Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-bde810c0b68842319f4c399480f1e18a2023-04-24T23:01:25ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2023-04-011210.7554/eLife.83876Poor air quality is associated with impaired visual cognition in the first two years of life: A longitudinal investigationJohn P Spencer0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7320-144XSamuel H Forbes1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1022-4676Sophie Naylor2Vinay P Singh3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1421-8775Kiara Jackson4Sean Deoni5Madhuri Tiwari6Aarti Kumar7School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United KingdomDepartment of Psychology, Durham University, Durham, United KingdomSchool of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United KingdomCommunity Empowerment Lab, Lucknow, IndiaSchool of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United KingdomDepartment of Pediatrics, Brown University, Providence, United StatesCommunity Empowerment Lab, Lucknow, IndiaCommunity Empowerment Lab, Lucknow, IndiaBackground: Poor air quality has been linked to cognitive deficits in children, but this relationship has not been examined in the first year of life when brain growth is at its peak. Methods: We measured in-home air quality focusing on particulate matter with diameter of <2.5 μm (PM2.5) and infants’ cognition longitudinally in a sample of families from rural India. Results: Air quality was poorer in homes that used solid cooking materials. Infants from homes with poorer air quality showed lower visual working memory scores at 6 and 9 months of age and slower visual processing speed from 6 to 21 months when controlling for family socio-economic status. Conclusions: Thus, poor air quality is associated with impaired visual cognition in the first two years of life, consistent with animal studies of early brain development. We demonstrate for the first time an association between air quality and cognition in the first year of life using direct measures of in-home air quality and looking-based measures of cognition. Because indoor air quality was linked to cooking materials in the home, our findings suggest that efforts to reduce cooking emissions should be a key target for intervention. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant OPP1164153.https://elifesciences.org/articles/83876air qualitycognitive developmentinfancy |
| spellingShingle | John P Spencer Samuel H Forbes Sophie Naylor Vinay P Singh Kiara Jackson Sean Deoni Madhuri Tiwari Aarti Kumar Poor air quality is associated with impaired visual cognition in the first two years of life: A longitudinal investigation eLife air quality cognitive development infancy |
| title | Poor air quality is associated with impaired visual cognition in the first two years of life: A longitudinal investigation |
| title_full | Poor air quality is associated with impaired visual cognition in the first two years of life: A longitudinal investigation |
| title_fullStr | Poor air quality is associated with impaired visual cognition in the first two years of life: A longitudinal investigation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Poor air quality is associated with impaired visual cognition in the first two years of life: A longitudinal investigation |
| title_short | Poor air quality is associated with impaired visual cognition in the first two years of life: A longitudinal investigation |
| title_sort | poor air quality is associated with impaired visual cognition in the first two years of life a longitudinal investigation |
| topic | air quality cognitive development infancy |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/83876 |
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