Ambient Air Pollution (PM2.5 & O3) in Relation to ADHD in NYC Children Age 3-13 Years
Year: 2021
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: BACKGROUND AND AIM: Recent studies have investigated the relationship between air pollution and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with inconsistent results. The specific causes of ADHD remain unknown; however, there is biologic plausibility for etiologic mechanisms linking air pollution exposure and neurodevelopmental outcomes, such as ADHD. METHODS: We included 5,032 children ages 3-13 years from the 2017 New York City KIDS survey on children’s health provided by New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, of which 303 had a parent report of ADHD diagnosed by a mental health professional. Using the child’s date of birth and residential neighborhood (sub-borough) during the survey, we linked to daily air pollution data from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fused air quality using surface downscaling (FAQSD) model, focusing on particulate matter 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3). We estimated odds ratios (aOR) adjusting for child’s sex, child’s race/ethnicity, highest parental education, household income, and indoor tobacco use. RESULTS:One-year postnatal PM2.5 and O3 mean, standard deviations and correlation: 11.1±1.5 (ug/m3); 66.3±4.4 (ppb); -0.67 correlation. ADHD was associated with PM2.5, with aOR and 95% confidence interval (CI) per ug/m3 increase in PM2.5: prenatal=1.13(1.01,1.27); postnatal=1.19(1.07,1.31); combined prenatal and postnatal=1.18(1.07,1.31). In contrast, ozone exhibited inverse associations, with aOR and 95%CI per ppb increase in O3 exposures for prenatal=0.92 (0.87,0.98), postnatal=0.85(0.78,0.94), and combined prenatal and postnatal=0.87(0.79,0.94). CONCLUSIONS:Despite air pollution measurement error resulting from geographic aggregation at the neighborhood-level, we observed links between PM2.5 and ADHD that align with prior studies. Our observed inverse associations between O3 and ADHD are unlikely to reflect beneficial effects of ozone given its known harmful impacts and may be artifacts of the negative correlation between ozone and PM2.5. These results provide further support for the adverse impact of air pollutants such as PM2.5 during pregnancy and infancy on the risk for development of ADHD. KEYWORDS: ADHD, Air Pollution, Children's Environmental Health, Neurodevelopmental Outcomes, Ozone, Particulate Matter
Source: ISEE Conference Abstracts
Language: English
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W3193585765