Outdoor and indoor air quality and cognitive ability in young children

Midouhas, Emily; Kokosi, Theodora; Flouri, Eirini

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2017.11.026

Cited by 36 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…27 These conclusions are confirmed by specific systematic reviews and by a big cohort study performed on more than 8000 children in UK. [28][29][30] Hutter et al examined a total of 436 schoolchildren in Austrian urban areas and observed reduced cognitive performance in those classrooms where higher concentrations of particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5) and CO 2 were measured. 31 In a cohort study involving 60 Scottish schools, CO 2 levels were associated to lower average annual attendance and worse individual test scores for reading, writing and arithmetic -even when adjusted for socioeconomic status and number of students per class.…”

Section: Tuoms P R E S Smentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 27 These conclusions are confirmed by specific systematic reviews and by a big cohort study performed on more than 8000 children in UK. 28 - 30 Hutter et al examined a total of 436 schoolchildren in Austrian urban areas and observed reduced cognitive performance in those classrooms where higher concentrations of particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5) and CO 2 were measured. 31 …”

Section: School Indoor Air Quality and Students’ Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

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Indoor air quality at school and students’ performance: Recommendations of the UNESCO Chair on Health Education and Sustainable Development & the Italian Society of Environmental Medicine (SIMA)

Pulimeno

Piscitelli²,

Colazzo

et al. 2020

Health Promot Perspect

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The issue of indoor air quality (IAQ) concerns 64 million students across Europe, but it is still a neglected topic, although it impacts both their health and learning outcomes. Classroommicroclimate is the first key factor determining a healthy or unhealthy school environment, and it is influenced by ventilation, temperature and humidity rate. Classrooms are usually crowded, overheated and poorly ventilated, thus resulting in possible increases of carbon dioxide (CO2), that can cause several problems when its concentrations exceed the value of 0.15 percentage volume of CO2 (1500 ppm) or even at lower levels (1000 ppm). CO2 can also arise from outside the school, being widely produced by the combustion of fossils or road traffic. Anthropogenic activities are responsible for the emission of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAH) too, which represent other possible external contaminants potentially impairing IAQ. Furtherdangerous exposures for students’ health are those related to natural emission of gas Radon, which typically accumulates in poorly ventilated classrooms, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs, released by building materials, paints, furnishings, detergents), while chemicals substances (i.e.cyanoacrylate, lead, cadmium, nickel) might be contained in school materials. Finally, particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) originating from road traffic, domestic heating or industrial activities represent additional possible contaminants impacting schools’ air quality. Poor IAQ might result in mild adverse events (i.e. headaches, nausea etc.) or cause respiratory problems. More frequently, IAQ affects students’ attention and their school performances, as widely documented by many studies. Standardized tests administered to pupils exposed to poor IAQ (to assess reading and mathematical abilities) systematically result in worse outcomes compared to students staying in healthy classroom environments. In this paper, we present recommendations of UNESCO Chair on Health Education and Sustainable Development and Italian Society of Environmental Medicine(SIMA) to ensure an optimal IAQ at school, including some post-COVID-19 issues.

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Section: Tuoms P R E S Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: School Indoor Air Quality and Students’ Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Indoor air quality at school and students’ performance: Recommendations of the UNESCO Chair on Health Education and Sustainable Development & the Italian Society of Environmental Medicine (SIMA)

Pulimeno

Piscitelli²,

Colazzo

et al. 2020

Health Promot Perspect

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“…There is therefore evidence supporting the link between poor air quality and child behaviour, but the existing research has several limitations that this study was carried out to address. First, although recent research has explored outdoor and indoor air quality and cognitive ability in early childhood [52], no study has explored simultaneously the roles of outdoor and indoor air quality in emotional and behavioural problems during this developmental phase. Second, no study has yet explored the associations between air quality and child emotional and behavioural problems in the general population (the research to date has targeted urban samples).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The quality of air outside and inside the home: associations with emotional and behavioural problem scores in early childhood

2019

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Background This study explored the role of outdoor air pollution [nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and sulphur dioxide (SO 2 )] and indoor air quality (measured with damp or condensation and secondhand smoke exposures) at age 9 months in emotional, conduct and hyperactivity problems at age 3 years. Method Data from 11,625 Millennium Cohort Study children living in England and Wales were modelled using multilevel regression. Results After adjusting for a host of confounders, having a damp or condensation problem at home was related to both emotional and conduct problems. Secondhand smoke exposure was associated with all three problem types. Associations with outdoor air pollution were less consistent. Conclusions Exposures to damp or condensation and secondhand smoke in the home are likely to be risk factors for child emotional and behavioural problems. Parents should continue to be educated about the dangers of exposing their children to poor air quality at home.

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“…Potential confounding variables include child age,74, sex74, child’s birth weight75, maternal76, mageternal BMI74, maternal education52 75, maternal ethnicity77, family income74, family immigrant status78, household composition (ie, single or dual parent households)74, parental employment status79,breastfeeding duration80, smoking during pregnancy81, and child’s exposure to smoke82 (see table 1). These variables were selected a priori and will be collected using parent-reported questionnaires.…”

Section: Methods and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Fit for School Study protocol: early child growth, health behaviours, nutrition, cardiometabolic risk and developmental determinants of a child’s school readiness, a prospective cohort

et al. 2019

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IntroductionSchool readiness is a multidimensional construct that includes cognitive, behavioural and emotional aspects of a child’s development. School readiness is strongly associated with a child’s future school success and well-being. The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a reliable and valid teacher-completed tool for assessing school readiness in children at kindergarten age. A substantial knowledge gap exists in understanding how early child growth, health behaviours, nutrition, cardiometabolic risk and development impact school readiness. The primary objective was to determine if growth patterns, measured by body mass index trajectories in healthy children aged 0–5 years, are associated with school readiness at ages 4–6 years (kindergarten age). Secondary objectives were to determine if other health trajectories, including health behaviours, nutrition, cardiometabolic risk and development, are associated with school readiness at ages 4–6 years. This paper presents the Fit for School Study protocol.Methods and analysisThis is an ongoing prospective cohort study. Parents of children enrolled in the The Applied Health Research Group for Kids (TARGet Kids!) practice-based research network are invited to participate in the Fit for School Study. Child growth, health behaviours, nutrition, cardiometabolic risk and development data are collected annually at health supervision visits and linked to EDI data collected by schools. The primary and secondary analyses will use a two-stage process: (1) latent class growth models will be used to first determine trajectory groups, and (2) generalised linear mixed models will be used to examine the relationship between exposures and EDI results.Ethics and disseminationThe research ethics boards at The Hospital for Sick Children, Unity Health Toronto and McMaster University approved this study, and research ethics approval was obtained from each school board with a student participating in the study. The findings will be presented locally, nationally and internationally and will be published in peer-reviewed journals.Trial registration numberNCT01869530.

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Outdoor and indoor air quality and cognitive ability in young children

Abstract: Young children's exposures to indoor damp or condensation and secondhand smoke are likely to be detrimental for their cognitive outcomes. However, there do not appear to be any short-term effects of NO.

Cited by 36 publications

References 39 publications

Indoor air quality at school and students’ performance: Recommendations of the UNESCO Chair on Health Education and Sustainable Development & the Italian Society of Environmental Medicine (SIMA)

Indoor air quality at school and students’ performance: Recommendations of the UNESCO Chair on Health Education and Sustainable Development & the Italian Society of Environmental Medicine (SIMA)

The quality of air outside and inside the home: associations with emotional and behavioural problem scores in early childhood

Fit for School Study protocol: early child growth, health behaviours, nutrition, cardiometabolic risk and developmental determinants of a child’s school readiness, a prospective cohort

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