People living in cities with polluted air are likely to suffer a huge reduction in intelligence over time. The real damage of toxic air is seemingly deeper than once believed. A new study has found that apart from physical ailments that toxic, polluted air is directly responsible for, mental health is also affected by airborne toxins.
The paper was authored by a team of Chinese scientists and considering how 95 per cent of the world's population is actually breathing air that is unsafe, the study is timely, reports the Guardian. Researchers found that high air pollution led to a significant drop in test scores. They covered subjects like language and arithmetic and on average, the impact was "equivalent" to losing one whole year of education.
Xi Chen at Yale School of Public Health in the US and member of the research team said that polluted air can cause, "everyone to reduce their level of education by one year, which is huge."
Researchers also found that the elderly are more affected more than the youngsters in this deterioration of intelligence effect, "especially those over 64, and for men, and for those with low education. If we calculate [the loss of years] for those, it may be a few years of education," he said.
While previous research, notes the report, found that unclean air affects cognitive performance in students, this is the first study that extends out to seniors as well. They also explored the effects of air pollution on people of all ages as well as the difference between men and women.
As to why elderly people's damage to intelligence comes with serious consequences, Xi points out that people usually make the most critical financial decisions in their old age.
Researchers analysed a bulk of the language and arithmetic tests conducted as part of "China Family Panel Studies" on 20,000 people across the country. The tests happened between 2010 and 2014, notes the report. Scientists then compared test results with records of nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide pollution in the regions.
Results of the study revealed that the longer people exposed their lungs to dirty air, the more damage they took to their intelligence. Language abilities were affected more than mathematical abilities and men were also more in harm than women.
Researchers pointed out that this could be the result of differences in how female and male brains function.
The study was first published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
