Air pollution causes a “huge” reduction in intelligence, scientists say, and ‘dirty’ air is equivalent to missing a year of school.
Shocking new research suggests air pollution has a serious impact on mental capabilities as well as physical health in human beings. An international team of researchers led by Beijing Normal University analysed language and arithmetic tests conducted on 20,000 people across China between 2010 and 2014.
The study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is relevant worldwide, as the latest figures show around 95 per cent of the global population are now breathing unsafe air.
“Polluted air can cause everyone to reduce their level of education by one year, which is huge,” researcher Xi Chen of Yale School of Public Health told the Guardian.
“Polluted air can cause everyone to reduce their level of education by one year, which is huge,” says Chen. “But we know the effect is worse for the elderly, especially those over 64, and for men, and for those with low education. If we calculate [the loss] for those, it may be a few years of education.”
The damage in intelligence was worst for those over 64 years old, with serious consequences, said Chen: “We usually make the most critical financial decisions in old age.”
Air pollution causes seven million premature deaths a year but the harm to people’s mental abilities is less well known. A recent study found 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, the Guardian reports.
