Luminati Ornella, Brentani Alexandra, Flückiger Benjamin, Ledebur de Antas de Campos Bartolomeu, Raess Michelle, Röösli Martin, de Hoogh Kees, Fink Günther
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland.
University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
PLoS One. 2022 May 13;17(5):e0268192. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0268192. eCollection 2022.
Outdoor air pollution is increasingly recognised as a key threat to population health globally, with particularly high risks for urban residents. In this study, we assessed the association between residential nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure and children's cognitive and behavioural development using data from São Paulo Brazil, one of the largest urban agglomerations in the world.
We used data from the São Paulo Western Region Birth Cohort, a longitudinal cohort study aiming to examine determinants as well as long-term implications of early childhood development. Cross-sectional data from the 72-month follow-up was analysed. Data on NO2 concentration in the study area was collected at 80 locations in 2019, and land use regression modelling was used to estimate annual NO2 concentration at children's homes. Associations between predicted NO2 exposure and children's cognitive development as well as children's behavioural problems were estimated using linear regression models adjusted for an extensive set of confounders. All results were expressed per 10 μg/m3 increase in NO2.
1143 children were included in the analysis. We found no association between NO2 and children's cognitive development (beta -0.05, 95% CI [-0.20; 0.10]) or behavioural problems (beta 0.02, 95% CI [-0.80; 0.12]).
No association between child cognition or child behaviour and NO2 was found in this cross-sectional analysis. Further research will be necessary to understand the extent to which these null results reflect a true absence of association or other statistical, biological or adaptive factors not addressed in this paper.
室外空气污染日益被视为全球人口健康的关键威胁，城市居民面临的风险尤其高。在本研究中，我们利用来自巴西圣保罗的数据评估了住宅二氧化氮（NO₂）暴露与儿童认知和行为发展之间的关联，圣保罗是世界上最大的城市群之一。
我们使用了圣保罗西部地区出生队列的数据，这是一项纵向队列研究，旨在研究幼儿发展的决定因素及其长期影响。分析了72个月随访的横断面数据。2019年在80个地点收集了研究区域内二氧化氮浓度的数据，并使用土地利用回归模型估计儿童家中的年度二氧化氮浓度。使用针对一系列广泛混杂因素进行调整的线性回归模型，估计预测的二氧化氮暴露与儿童认知发展以及儿童行为问题之间的关联。所有结果均以二氧化氮每增加10μg/m³表示。
1143名儿童纳入分析。我们发现二氧化氮与儿童认知发展（β -0.05，95%置信区间[-0.20; 0.10]）或行为问题（β 0.02，95%置信区间[-0.80; 0.12]）之间无关联。
在本横断面分析中未发现儿童认知或行为与二氧化氮之间存在关联。有必要进行进一步研究，以了解这些零结果在多大程度上反映了真正不存在关联，或者本文未涉及的其他统计、生物学或适应性因素。
