Severity of Early Life Stress Moderates the Effect of Fine Particle Air Pollution on Adolescent Brain Development

Abstract

Air pollution is currently the greatest environmental threat to public health, but we know little about its effects on adolescent brain development. In this context, exposure to air pollution co-occurs, and could interact, with social factors that also affect brain development, such as early life stress (ELS). Here, we show that severity of ELS moderates the association between fine particle air pollution (particulate matter 2.5; PM2.5) and structural brain development. We interviewed adolescents about ELS, used census-tract data to characterize PM2.5 concentrations, and conducted longitudinal tensor-based morphometry to assess regional changes in brain volume over a two-year period. Across various cortical, thalamic, and white matter tract regions, there was a remarkably consistent effect of PM2.5 on volumetric change for adolescents who had experienced less, rather than more, severe ELS. Furthermore, exposure to higher levels of PM2.5 and experiencing moderate to severe ELS were associated with comparable volumetric changes in the brain in adolescence.