A recent Environmental Health Perspectives study found a correlation between a mother breathing smog during pregnancy and her child’s subsequent behavioral problems. The study followed 253 non-smoking, inner-city women who gave birth between 1999 and 2006. Researchers measured the concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), a common air pollutant found in traffic emissions, in each mother’s environment for 48 hours during the second or third trimester. They also took blood samples from the mothers and the umbilical cords.
The study found a positive correlation between higher PAH exposure during pregnancy and the incidence of anxiety and depression in the children by around age 6.
Dr. Andrew Adesman, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York noted, “On one hand, I don’t think people will be surprised that pollution poses a potential risk. What is striking here is they have been able to document and quantify it.”
