Air Pollution May Slow Infant Brain Development: Study - Video

A study published in Environment International has found that exposure to air pollution during pregnancy is associated with slower brain maturation in newborns.

Myelination, a critical process in early brain maturation, involves coating nerve fibers with myelin to improve the efficiency of neural communication. According to the study, newborns whose mothers were exposed to higher levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) during pregnancy showed signs of delayed myelination. These findings are significant because both a slowdown and an acceleration in brain maturation can potentially be harmful to long-term cognitive and developmental outcomes.

To conduct the study, researchers recruited pregnant women receiving prenatal care. The team monitored the levels of air pollution the women were exposed to throughout their pregnancies. After birth, 132 newborns were selected and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) within their first month of life to assess brain myelination.

The results revealed a clear correlation between higher prenatal exposure to PM2.5 and lower levels of brain myelination in the infants. “Air pollution, specifically PM2.5, is associated with alterations in the myelination process, a fundamental mechanism of brain maturation. Therefore, it is essential to continue controlling pollution levels and to study how this slowdown may affect the later brain development of children,” explained Gerard Martínez-Vilavella, researcher at Hospital del Mar.

The study emphasizes that the effect is due to a combination of components within PM2.5—such as toxic compounds and essential metals like iron, copper, and zinc without pinpointing a single culprit. This study opens a new avenue in understanding how environmental factors affect fetal brain development and highlights the urgent need for stricter air pollution controls.

Reference: Pujol J, Martinez-Vilavella G, Gómez-Herrera L, Rivas I, Gomez-Roig MD, Llurba E, Cirach M, Persavento C, Querol X, Gascon M, Foraster M. Unraveling the Impact of Prenatal Air Pollution on Neonatal Brain Maturation.