Study says pollution does not increase the risk of ADHD symptoms during pregnancy

A recent study has declared that the prenatal exposure to air pollution could affect brain development in children, but the evidence on the effects of air pollution on ADHD symptoms is limited. The study was led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health which also included data on nearly 30,000 children from seven European countries.


Joan Forns, lead author of the study said, "Our findings show no association between exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and increased risk of ADHD symptoms."


Monica Guxens, the researcher said, "Given the conclusions of this study and the inconsistent findings of previous studies, we hypothesise that exposure to air pollution might not increase the risk of ADHD in children in the general population. However, we believe that exposure to air pollution could have harmful effects on neuropsychological development, especially in genetically susceptible children."


The researcher concluded by saying, "We will continue to study the role of air pollution in order to rule out its association with childhood ADHD and improve our understanding of what causes this disorder.”