Air pollution exposure during pregnancy and brain morphology in young children: a population-based prospective birth cohort study

Guxens, Mònica; Lubczyńska, Małgorzata J.; Muetzel, Ryan L.; Dalmau, Albert; Jaddoe, Vincent W. V.; Verhulst, Frank C.; Hoek, Gerard; White, Tonya; Brunekreef, Bert; Tiemeier, Henning; Marroun, Hanan El

doi:10.1289/isee.2016.4503

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Air pollution then may influence ongoing brain development and plasticity across adolescence, as regions and networks associated with mental health conditions and psychopathology (e.g., hippocampus, amygdala, default mode network, frontoparietal network, and salience network) (Menon, 2011(Menon, , 2013 undergo protracted development. In fact, a number of MRI studies suggest that exposure to ambient air pollution is linked to differences in brain macro-and microarchitecture (Binter et al, 2022;Burnor et al, 2021;Essers et al, 2023;Guxens et al, 2018Guxens et al, , 2022Herting et al, 2019;Lubczyńska et al, 2021;Pérez-Crespo et al, 2022;Sukumaran et al, 2023). Thus, it is feasible that these differences may be early neural biomarkers of PM 2.5 exposure-related risk prior to any overt changes in behavior.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Air pollution and emotional behavior in adolescents across the U.S.

Campbell

Cotter

Bottenhorn

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Recent studies have linked air pollution to increased risk for behavioral problems during development, albeit with inconsistent findings. Additional longitudinal studies are needed that consider how emotional behaviors may be affected when exposure coincides with the transition to adolescence, a vulnerable time for developing mental health difficulties. This study examines how annual average PM2.5 and NO2 exposure at ages 9 to 10 years relates to internalizing and externalizing behaviors over a 2 year follow up period in a large, nationwide U.S. sample of participants from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Air pollution exposure was estimated based on the residential address of each participant using an ensemble-based modeling approach. Caregivers answered questions from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at baseline and annually for two follow up sessions for a total of 3 waves of data; from the CBCL we obtained scores on internalizing and externalizing problems plus 5 syndrome scales (anxious/depressed, withdrawn/depressed, rule-breaking behavior, aggressive behavior, and attention problems). Zero-inflated negative binomial models were used to examine both the main effect of age as well as the interaction of age with each pollutant on behavior while adjusting for various socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Overall, the pollution effects moderated the main effects of age with higher levels of PM2.5 and NO2 leading to an even greater likelihood of having no behavioral problems (i.e., score of zero) with age over time, as well as fewer problems when problems are present as the child ages. Albeit this was on the order equal to or less than a 1 point change. Thus, one year of annual exposure at 9 to 10 years is linked with very small change in emotional behaviors in early adolescence, which may be of little clinical relevance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Air pollution and emotional behavior in adolescents across the U.S.

Campbell

Cotter

Bottenhorn

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…For example, substance use and prenatal drug exposure has been linked with larger hippocampal volumes (Medina et al, 2007;Riggins et al, 2012), while exposure to air pollution during pregnancy has been associated with larger childhood amygdala volumes (Lubczyńska et al, 2021). Other work suggests the age of childhood exposure to toxicants may impact the specific nature of the effects on the brain (e.g., larger or smaller gray matter volumes) (Guxens et al, 2022). Therefore, the larger hippocampal and amygdala volumes observed in participants who lived in close proximity to Birmingham's Superfund site may be related in part to the age at which exposure occurred as well as the unique combination of environmental toxicants found at the site.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hippocampal and amygdala volumes vary with residential proximity to toxicants at Birmingham, Alabama’s 35th Avenue Superfund site.

Buford,

Snidow,

Curiel

et al. 2023

Behavioral Neuroscience

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Exposure to environmental toxicants have serious implications for the general health and well-being of children, particularly during pivotal neurodevelopmental stages. The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Superfund program has identified several areas (Superfund sites) across the United States with high levels of environmental toxicants, which affect the health of many residents in nearby communities. Exposure to these environmental toxicants has been linked to changes in the structure and function of the brain. However, limited research has investigated the relationship between the proximity of childhood homes to a Superfund site and the development of subcortical structures like the hippocampus and amygdala. The present study investigated the hippocampal and amygdala volumes of young adults in relation to the proximity of their childhood homes to Birmingham, Alabama's 35th Avenue Superfund site. Forty participants who either lived within or adjacent to the Superfund site (Proximal group; n = 20) or who lived elsewhere in the greater Birmingham metropolitan area (Distal group; n = 20) were included in this study. Both groups were matched on age, sex, race, and years of education. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to compare the gray matter volume of the hippocampus and amygdala between groups. Differences in bilateral hippocampal and left amygdala volumes were observed. Specifically, hippocampal and amygdala volumes were greater in the Proximal than Distal group. These findings suggest that the proximity of children's homes to environmental toxicants may impact the development of the hippocampus and amygdala.

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