Environment
L.A.'s Air Pollution May Be Harming Teen Brains
A new study from the University of Southern California suggests a link between air pollution and adolescent delinquency.
We already know that invisible elements of our environment can harm us: Lead exposure can lower a child’s IQ, and air pollution kills more than 3 million people a year. Now, a study from the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine suggests that air pollution may be having insidious effects on young people’s brains.
The study, published last week in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, followed 682 children in greater Los Angeles for nine years from the age of nine to 18. It concluded that air pollution may increase delinquent behavior in adolescents.