Low intelligence quotient or IQ is a trouble that numerous children go through, especially at the peak of their academic years. The low IQ leads to deteriorated performance and a massive loss in self confidence. Now, scientists have determined that exposure to pollution before birth is to be blamed for a child’s lower IQ level, a finding that has provided concrete to claims that, pre-birth smog inhalation is extremely harmful for the developing brain of the child.

The study took place in New York City where 249 pregnant women were given backpacks to  be worn for 48 hours, that contained air monitors to monitor the mothers’ pollution intake. Most of these test subjects hailed from suburban areas of Manhattan and South Bronx. The pollution components that were monitored during the test period included, air pollution, mostly from car, bus and truck exhaust.

After the completion of the tests, the same mothers’ children were given an IQ test at the age of 5, to test the theory of urban pollution being the culprit for low IQ levels. As the theory predicted the children who were exposed to higher levels of pre-birth pollution scored about for to five points lower than the children who were exposed to lesser levels of pre-birth pollution.

However, this new development does not state that, those with less IQ levels would not be able to read and learn. According to Dr. Michael Msall (University of Chicago),

“The study doesn’t mean that children living in congested cities aren’t going to learn to read and write and spell. But it does suggest that you don’t have to live right next door to a belching factory to face pollution health risks, and that there may be more dangers from typical urban air pollution than previously thought. We are learning more and more about low-dose exposure and how things we take for granted may not be a free ride “

Patrick Breysse of John Hopkins stated,

“While future research is needed to confirm the new results, the findings suggest exposure to air pollution before birth could have the same harmful effects on the developing brain as exposure to lead.”

Via AP.