Reducing air pollution can support healthy brain development: Study

A new study finds that having a portable air cleaner in the home can reduce the negative impacts of air pollution on brain development in children. Simon Fraser researchers collaborated with U.S. and Mongolian scientists to study the benefits of using air filters to reduce exposure to air pollution during pregnancy, and assessed the impact on children's intelligence. The researchers note that their randomized controlled trial is the first study of its kind to document the impacts of air pollution reduction on cognition in children. Beginning in 2014, the team recruited 540 pregnant women in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to participate in the Ulaanbaatar Gestation and Air Pollution Research (UGAAR) study. Ulaanbaatar has some of the worst air quality in the world, well exceeding guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO). The women were less than 18 weeks into their pregnancies and non-smokers who had not previously used air filtering devices in their homes. They were randomly assigned to either the control or intervention group.