Are pollution and attention problems related?

Conclusion Overall, this relatively small cohort study demonstrates an association, but does not provide conclusive evidence, that exposure to pollution (in the form of PAHs) before birth is associated with the development of ADHD. There are a number of limitations to consider. These include the fact that the study includes a relatively small sample of 250 children, with all of them from two specific ethnic groups (African-American and Dominican), and from three suburbs of New York City. The findings may not be generalisable to other populations. While the researchers used valid assessment scales, it has not focused on examining actual diagnoses of ADHD. Importantly, the only association identified by the researchers was between ADHD symptoms and levels of PAH DNA in maternal blood at the time of birth. There was no association between maternal blood PAH levels and environmentally-measured PAH levels or dietary PAH intake. Therefore, the source of this exposure is not known, and it cannot be reliably assumed to be due to environmental causes. Levels of PAH-modified DNA not only reflect exposure, but also an individual’s uptake, detoxification and DNA repair rates.   Finally, there remains the possibility that if there is an association between maternal levels of PAH and child ADHD symptoms, it could be influenced by a variety of unmeasured health, lifestyle and socioeconomic factors. While the findings are undoubtedly worthy of further research, there does not appear t...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Pregnancy/child Source Type: news