Boston College Global Observatory on Planetary Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Environ Health. 2024 Nov 18;23(1):101. doi: 10.1186/s12940-024-01122-x.
A growing body of epidemiologic and toxicologic literature indicates that fine airborne particulate matter (PM) pollution is neurotoxic and threatens children's neurobehavioral development, resulting in reduced cognitive function. Understanding the magnitude of this effect is critical for establishing public health policies that will protect children's health, preserve human capital, and support societal progress.
To quantify the association between ambient PM air pollution and loss of cognitive function in children, as measured by Intelligence Quotient (IQ) scores, through a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.
Following PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a systematic literature search across seven databases: Agricultural and Environmental Science, BIOSIS Citation Index, Embase, GreenFILE, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science to identify original scientific studies that investigated the impact of PM exposure during pre-and postnatal periods on IQ loss during childhood. Using data from studies included for final review, we conducted a meta-analysis, using a random effects model to compute a beta coefficient that quantifies the overall effect of PM exposure on Full-Scale IQ (FSIQ), Performance IQ (PIQ), and Verbal IQ (VIQ).
Of the 1,107 unique publications identified, six studies met the inclusion criteria for final review, representing 4,860 children across three continents (North America, Europe, and Asia). The mean PM concentration across all studies was 30.4 ± 24.4 µg/m. Exposure timing ranged from the prenatal period to mid-childhood. Children were an average of 8.9 years old at the time of cognitive testing. We found that each 1 µg/m increase in PM concentration is associated with a -0.27 point change in FSIQ (p < 0.001), 0.39 point change in PIQ (p = 0.003), and -0.24 point change in VIQ (p = 0.021).
Through a systematic review and meta-analysis, we identified a statistically significant relationship between increased exposure to PM air pollution and reduced cognitive function in children, with the most pronounced impact on PIQ. This analysis will enable estimation of the burden of adverse neurobehavioral development attributable to PM in pediatric populations and will inform local and global strategies for exposure prevention.
越来越多的流行病学和毒理学文献表明，细颗粒物（PM）空气污染具有神经毒性，威胁儿童的神经行为发育，导致认知功能下降。了解这种影响的程度对于制定保护儿童健康、保护人力资本和支持社会进步的公共卫生政策至关重要。
通过系统文献回顾和荟萃分析，量化环境 PM 空气污染与儿童认知功能丧失（以智商 [IQ] 分数衡量）之间的关联。
根据 PRISMA 指南，我们在七个数据库中进行了系统文献检索：农业和环境科学、BIOSIS 引文索引、Embase、GreenFILE、PubMed、Scopus 和 Web of Science，以确定调查 PM 暴露对儿童期 IQ 丧失影响的原始科学研究。使用最终审查中包含的研究数据，我们进行了荟萃分析，使用随机效应模型计算一个贝塔系数，该系数量化 PM 暴露对全量表智商（FSIQ）、表现智商（PIQ）和言语智商（VIQ）的总体影响。
在 1107 篇独特的出版物中，有 6 项研究符合最终审查的纳入标准，代表了来自三个大陆（北美、欧洲和亚洲）的 4860 名儿童。所有研究的平均 PM 浓度为 30.4±24.4μg/m。暴露时间范围从产前到儿童中期。儿童在进行认知测试时的平均年龄为 8.9 岁。我们发现，PM 浓度每增加 1μg/m，FSIQ 下降 0.27 点（p<0.001），PIQ 上升 0.39 点（p=0.003），VIQ 下降 0.24 点（p=0.021）。
通过系统综述和荟萃分析，我们确定了 PM 空气污染暴露增加与儿童认知功能下降之间存在统计学显著的关系，对 PIQ 的影响最为明显。这项分析将能够估计儿科人群中 PM 导致的不良神经行为发育的负担，并为预防暴露的地方和全球战略提供信息。
