Air pollution and cortical myelin T1w/T2w ratio estimates in school-age children from the ABCD and NeuroSmog studies.
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Air pollution affects human health and may disrupt brain maturation, including axon myelination, critical for efficient neural signaling. Here, we assess the impact of prenatal and current long-term particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) exposure on cortical T1w/T2w ratios – a proxy for myelin content – in school-age children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (United States; N = 2021) and NeuroSmog study (Poland; N = 577), using Siemens scanners. Across both samples, we found that NO 2 and PM were not significantly associated with cortical T1w/T2w except for one association of PM 10 with lower T1w/T2w in the precuneus in NeuroSmog. Superficially, ABCD Study analyses including data from all scanner types (Siemens, GE, Philips; N = 3089) revealed a negative association between NO₂ exposure and T1w/T2w ratios. However, this finding could be an artifact of between-site sociodemographic differences and large scanner-type-related measurement differences. While significant associations between air pollution and cortical myelin were largely absent, these findings do not rule out the possibility that air pollution affects cortical myelin during other exposure periods/stages of neurodevelopment. Future research should examine these relationships across diverse populations and developmental periods using unified analysis methods to better understand the potential neurotoxic effects of air pollution. • Air pollution exposure differences in U.S. and Poland adolescent populations. • Prenatal NO 2 and PM not significantly associated with T1w/T2w ratios. • Concurrent NO 2 and PM largely not significantly associated with T1w/T2w ratios. • NO 2 effects in larger ABCD subsample may stem from sociodemographic differences. • Future research should examine other periods of exposure and brain development.
Institutions: Jagiellonian University, University of Southern California, Instytut Biologii Doświadczalnej im. Marcelego Nenckiego, Polish Academy of Sciences, Institut und Poliklinik für Arbeits-, Sozial- und Umweltmedizin, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Institute of Environmental Protection, Systems Research Institute, University of Gdańsk, University of Exeter, Medical University Plovdiv, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
Language: English
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,650
Funders: Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, European Commission, Fundacja na rzecz Nauki Polskiej, Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie, National Institutes of Health, European Regional Development Fund, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Awards: G1020259976, G1207378219, G1569016918, G2218684446, G2809357920, G309685139, G3397632743, G3560303944, G3589649158, G387441039, G4066048162, G4234747722, G5081895789, G5111083886, G5129040277, G5699218253, G687916792, G6954369743, G7110098258, G7271102572, G735078438, G7652160222, G771167098, G8281824583, G8555462618, G8762821959, The role of air pollution in emotional neurodevelopment and risk for psychiatric disorders, G9000008241, G9000034221, G9000102440, G9000108491, G9000112882, G9000163168, G9000205938, G9000241459, 9/21 ABCD-USA CONSORTIUM: RESEARCH PROJECT SITE AT U MICHIGAN, 8/21 ABCD-USA CONSORTIUM: RESEARCH PROJECT SITE AT CHLA, 6/21 ABCD-USA CONSORTIUM: RESEARCH PROJECT SITE AT OHSU, 2/21 ABCD-USA CONSORTIUM: RESEARCH PROJECT SITE AT UMB, G923039674
OpenAlex ID: W4408049827