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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : February 12, 2015 7:12 PM IST
Is lack of space in the city for your children to play urging you to move away from the it? There's one more reason for you to do so and that is the ever increasing air pollution. A new study revealed that continuous exposure to polluted air, can hamper children's health. The study says that pollution can have detrimental impacts on the brain, including short-term memory loss and lower IQ.
The findings of the study showed that air pollution interacts with a gene called apolipoprotein epsilon 4 allele and lowers children's IQ by as much as 10 points that is likely to have a negative impact on academic and social issues, including bullying and teen delinquency, informed Lilian Calderon-Garciduenas, professor at the University of Montana in the US. Her findings also say that lifetime exposures to high level of air pollutants, including fine particulate matter, increase the risk for brain inflammation and neurodegenerative changes, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. (Read: Can food make your child smarter and more intelligent?)
Children, who live in a polluted environment and also carry the apolipoprotein epsilon 4 allele - already known to increase a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease - demonstrated compromised cognitive responses when compared with children carrying a gene with apolipoprotein epsilon 3 allele. The study matched two groups of children living in Mexico City using multiple variables, including age, gender, socio-economic status and education, among others. They then compared children carrying the epsilon 4 allele to children carrying the epsilon 3 allele and found that those with the former had three significant alterations. (Read: Almonds or badam why are they good for your brain and intellect?)
They had short-term memory shortfalls, an IQ that while within the normal limits measured 10 points less, and changes in key metabolites in the brain that mirror those of people with Alzheimer's disease. The study appeared in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. (Read: 7 home remedies to help boost brain power)
With inputs from IANS
Photo source: Getty images
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