Air pollution causing major reduction in intelligence, study suggests
Tehran (KNA) - In addition to having a deadly impact on people’s physical health, air pollution is now also believed to be responsible for a profound reduction in intelligence, a new study indicates.
Chronic exposure to airborne particulate matter appears to cause significant falls in test scores for both language and arithmetic, with average results equating the impact of poisonous air to losing a year's worth of education.
The research was carried out in China, but is relevant around the globe, as over 91 per cent of the planet's population live in areas with dangerous air and is now the fourth-highest cause of deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation.
In the UK, poisonous air is estimated to claim 50,000 lives annually, and this year the European Commission referred the British government to court for breaching EU air quality rules.
The Chinese study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, took place over four years and analysed verbal and arithmetic tests taken by 20,000 people of all ages.
The results indicate prolonged exposure to poor air appears to cause a degradation of cognition which worsens with advancing age.
Source: Independent