ECHO Review Finds Air Pollution May Be Associated with Child Brain Development, Behavior

Author(s): Heather E. Volk, Frederica Perera, Joseph M. Braun, Samantha L. Kingsley, Kim Gray, Jessie Buckley, Jane E. Clougherty, Lisa A. Croen, Brenda Eskenazi, Megan Herting, Allan C. Just, Itai Kloog, Amy Margolis, Leslie A. McClure, Rachel Miller, Sarah Levine, Rosalind Wright

Who sponsored this study?

This research was supported by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health.

What were the study results?

ECHO provides a unique opportunity to study how air pollution can affect children’s brain development and behavior in a large, diverse study population. It also has the ability to study pollutant exposures by geographic area, which has been a limitation in previous research.

What was the study's impact?

This study sets up the possibility of future work in ECHO on the effect of prenatal air pollution exposure on brain development in children.

Why was this study needed?

This study summarized information on different ways to measure prenatal air pollution exposure and what we know about how air pollution affects children’s behavior and brain development. It also helps create a plan for ECHO to study how being exposed to air pollution in the womb may affect children’s behavior.

Who was involved?

This paper uses summary data from ECHO to learn if there may be enough participants in the future to study how air pollution can affect children’s brain development and behavior.

What happened during the study?

Researchers reviewed earlier papers on air pollution and child development to summarize what those studies found. Then, they used that information to develop a plan that ECHO might use to fill gaps in that earlier work to advance children’s health.

What happens next?

Future studies will do the work described here – to examine air pollution exposure in ECHO participants by geographic area to determine how air pollution can affect the brain.

Where can I learn more?

Access the full journal article, titled “Prenatal air pollution exposure and neurodevelopment: A review and blueprint for a harmonized approach within ECHO.”

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Published: May 2021