Exposure to severe urban air pollution influences cognitive outcomes, brain volume and systemic inflammation in clinically healthy children

Subclinical Effects of Aerobic Training in Urban Environment

“…The concentration of UFPM, a marker of local traffic-related air pollution that was measured during the training sessions, was significantly higher in the urban training location compared with the rural location. Long-term PM exposure has been linked previously to neuroinflammation and cognitive decline in humans as well as animals (9)(10)(11)20,30).…”

“…Today, more than half of the world's population is living in urban areas (36), However, the dense fraffic network that crosses cities and urbanized environments provokes high levels of traffic-related air pollution. Traffic exhaust generated by combustion processes in the engines ofthe vehicles is an important source of particulate matter (PM) and, in particular, ultrafine PM (UFPM) that is characterized by an aerodynamic diameter equal to or smaller than 100 nm (26), Exposure to air pollution is associated with negative health effects, and respiratory and cardiovascular effects are well documented (7), It is hypothesized that inflammation is an important part of the mechanism through which PM induces negative health effects, because markers of respiratory and systemic infiammation are increased in response to PM exposure (6,7,25,37), More recently, associations were found between chronic exposure to air pollution and negative neurological effects, Calderón-Garcidueñas et al, (9)(10)(11) detected associations between residence in a highly polluted city rich in ozone and PM, and ultrafine particle deposition in the brain, neuroinftammation, dismption of blood-brain barrier, accumulation of amyloid-ß and a-synuclein, and cognitive decline. In addition to Calderón-Garcidueñas et al, others have found associations between PM exposure and cognitive decline (30), Physical activity is known to improve health as demonstrated by the cardiovascular benefits.…”

Exposure to Air Pollution From Traffic and Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Swedish Twins

“…Maternal smoking correlates with socio-economic factors such as education and income (Kabir et al, 2011;Laaksonen et al, 2005) and may contribute to this association. The earlier studies (Calderon-Garciduenas et al, 2011;Guxens et al, 2012;Siddique et al, 2011;Volk et al, 2011;Vrijheid et al, 2012;Windham et al, 2006) Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of neurodevelopmental outcomes by residential address-based NO x (black circles) and PM 10 (black hollow diamonds) levels. The spikes represent odds ratios for outcomes of interest and cap lines indicate 95% confidence intervals.…”

Disruption of Neurosynaptic Physiology and Neuron Network Dysfunction in Brain Disorders: An Environmental and Occupational Health Perspective

“…The cognitive deficits result from reduced brain connectivity [122][123][124], in highly exposed children. The deficits match the localization of the substantive white matter differences remaining consistent with impairments of parietal and temporal lobe functions [125]. Different neurodegenerative diseases often share common mechanisms, such as protein aggregation, oxidative stress injury, neuroinflammation, microglial activation, apoptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction, leading to ultimate loss of specific neurons [126].…”