Exposure to Common Pollutant in Womb Might Lower IQ

Related Encyclopedia • Acne • AIDS and HIV Infection • Alagille Syndrome • Allergic Rhinitis More... Related Healthscout Videos The Cure Within The Future Human: Linking Man with Machine Easier Breastfeeding for Moms DVT: What You Need to Know More... Related Animations • ADHD • Allergy • Breast Reduction • Breast Self-Exam Video More... Related Drug Information • Actonel • Adderal XR • Allegra • Allegra D More... Related News Articles • For Teenage Girls, Competition Cuts Both Ways: Study • Brain Hard-Wired to Resist Romantic Rejection, Study Suggests • Researchers Point to Possible Scleroderma-Cancer Link • Childhood Obesity Boosts Risk of GERD More...

Page:  << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3

Michael Jerrett, an associate professor of environmental health sciences with the School of Public Health at University of California, Berkeley, expressed little surprise at the findings, and suggested that an association between in-utero PAH exposure and a lower IQ is "certainly plausible."

"Children exposed to prenatal or in-utero air pollution from traffic oftentimes have lower birth weights, somewhat smaller head circumferences, and a number of adverse outcomes," he noted. "There's certainly enough there to suggest an effect. And I think any one of those outcomes -- if they happen early enough in life -- can affect development through childhood and exert an impact on intelligence," Jerrett said.

"Of course you can't rule out other factors -- the school environment, the home environment, even the neighborhood environment -- that might affect IQ," Jerrett cautioned. "But certainly it is important for us to investigate this, and see what further study reveals."

Text Continues Below

---

More information

For more on PAH exposure, visit the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

Page:  << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3