There’s something in the air

Some of the findings of the study:

64-year-olds bear the

brunt: The damage in intelligence was worst for those over 64 years old, with serious consequences: We usually make the most critical financial decisions in old age.

Dirty air damage: The longer people were exposed to dirty air, the bigger the damage to intelligence, with language ability more harmed than mathematical ability and men more harmed than women. The researchers said this may result from differences in how male and female brains work.

Oxidative stress: High air pollution can potentially be associated with oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and neurodegeneration of humans, said Derrick Ho, of Hong Kong Polytechnic University. High mortality: Toxic air was linked to ‘extremely high mortality’ in people with mental disorders and earlier work linked it to increased mental illness in children, while another analysis found those living near busy roads had an increased risk of dementia. 1 year loss of study time: High pollution levels led to significant drops in test scores in language and arithmetic, with the average impact equivalent to having lost a year of the person’s education.

Not just a co-relation:

Air pollution is most likely to be the cause of the loss of intelligence, rather than simply being a correlation. The study followed the same individuals as air pollution varied from one year to the next, meaning that many other possible causal factors such as genetic differences are automatically accounted for. The scientists also accounted for the gradual decline in cognition seen as people age. Stress and tests: Students who have to take crucial entrance exams on polluted days are impacted on short-term intelligence and this could also have important consequences, the study said.