A study found that children living in areas with more pollution particles and less greenspace may have a 62% higher chance of developing ADHD.
The research was published in Environment International. It found that children who live in areas with less pollution have a 50% lower chance of developing ADHD, which is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders.
Matilda van den Bosch (Barcelon Institute for Global Health, ISGlobal) was the researcher who used data from 37,000 children from Vancouver, Canada.
They examined the possible associations of ADHD-like symptoms in children and adolescents, including exposure to greenness, noise, and small pollution particles (PM2.5).
Van den Bosch stated that ADHD risk was significantly lower in children who live in greener areas with less pollution.
She said that this is an example of environmental inequality, where children who live in areas with more pollution and less greenness are at greater risk.
The study used administrative data for births from 2000-2001 and extracted data on ADHD cases from hospital records and physician visits.
The percentage of greenspace in the neighbourhoods of participants was calculated using a novel and precise satellite measurement, while the residential levels for NO2 (and PM2.5) and noise levels were estimated using the available exposure models.
A statistical model that allowed for the determination of hazard ratios was used to evaluate the possible associations between ADHD, environmental exposures, and ADHD.
Researchers were able to identify 1,217 ADHD cases, which is equivalent to 4.2% of the total population.
According to the researchers, ADHD is less common in areas with more vegetation than in others.
According to the results, a 12 percent increase in vegetation percentage was associated wit a 10 percent decrease in ADHD risk.
The study revealed that ADHD risk was higher in those who were exposed to fine particles.
They stated that there were no associations for the other environmental exposures, including NO2 and noise.
These results are consistent in previous studies which showed associations between green spaces and air pollution and ADHD.
However, most of research to date has been focused on single exposures. They rarely looked at the effects of multiple environmental conditions.
Van den Bosch stated that these associations are particularly relevant as exposures occur in early life, which is a crucial period of brain development, where children are most vulnerable.
“Our findings also showed that ADHD and PM2.5 were less affected by residential green spaces, and vice versa,” said Weiran Yuchi from the University of British Columbia. Yuchi was the first author of the study.
(This story is not edited by Devdiscourse staff.