BEIJING: Long-term exposure to air pollution significantly impacts cognitive abilities, leading to steep reduction in verbal and math test scores, a study conducted in China warns.
The findings, published in the journal PNAS, imply that the indirect effect of pollution on social welfare could be much larger than previously thought, the researchers said.
“Given that air pollution is more serious in Indian cities than Chinese cities, I suspect the impact will be worse in India,” said Xiaobo Zhang, a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in the US.
“Long-term exposure to air pollution impedes cognitive performance in verbal and math tests,” Zhang said.
“The damage on cognitive ability by air pollution also likely impedes the development of human capital,” said Zhang, who is also a professor at Peking University in China.
While the health consequences of air pollution are well known, few studies have examined its impact on cognitive abilities.
The study, with a sample size of nearly 32,000, examined the relationship between cognitive test scores and short- and long-term air pollution exposure.
Both verbal and math scores decreased with increasing cumulative air pollution exposure, with a steeper decline for verbal scores than math scores, researchers said. (AGENCIES)
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