Journal Article

Assessing the association between air pollution and child development in São Paulo, Brazil

Ledebur de Antas de Campos, Bartolomeu, Raess, Michelle, Flückiger, Benjamin, Luminati, Ornella, Fink, Günther, Röösli, Martin, Brentani, Alexandra, de Hoogh, Kees

2022

Overview

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.

• Publisher: Public Library of Science,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Air pollution / Birth weight / Caregivers / Child development / Children / Children & youth / Cognition / Cognition & reasoning / Cognitive ability / Data collection / Demographic aspects / Early childhood education / Ecology and Environmental Sciences / Environmental aspects / Health aspects / Health risks / Land use / Medicine and Health Sciences / Nitrogen dioxide / Older people / Outdoor air quality / People and Places / Physiological aspects / Pollutants / Population / Regression analysis / Regression models / Sensitivity analysis / Social Sciences / Statistical analysis / Urban areas / Variables