City Smog Linked to Cognitive Deficits in Children

For all the benefits of growing up urban, there are some considerable health risks too. In an upcoming issue of the journal Brain and Cognition, an international team of researchers reports that exposure to urban air pollutants "may perturb the trajectory of cerebral development and result in cognitive deficits during childhood." Simply put, the kids in cities may not be all right.

The researchers, led by Lilian Calderón-Garcidueñas of the National Institute of Paediatrics, in Mexico City, and the University of Montana, studied a group of 30 children aged 7 or 8 who had lived in Mexican cities their whole lives. Some came from Mexico City, a place known for its extremely high levels of air pollutants, while others lived in Polotitlán, a city with a strong air quality rating.