Review

. 2021 May:196:110320.

doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.110320. Epub 2020 Oct 22.

Prenatal air pollution exposure and neurodevelopment: A review and blueprint for a harmonized approach within ECHO

Heather E Volk¹, Frederica Perera², Joseph M Braun³, Samantha L Kingsley³, Kimberly Gray⁴, Jessie Buckley⁵, Jane E Clougherty⁶, Lisa A Croen⁷, Brenda Eskenazi⁸, Megan Herting⁹, Allan C Just¹⁰, Itai Kloog¹¹, Amy Margolis¹², Leslie A McClure¹³, Rachel Miller¹⁴, Sarah Levine², Rosalind Wright¹⁵; Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mental Health and Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: hvolk1@jhu.edu.
² Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
³ Department of Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
⁴ National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Durham, NC, USA.
⁵ Department of Environmental Health and Engineering and Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁶ Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁷ Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA, USA.
⁸ Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health, School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁹ Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
¹¹ Department of Geography and Environmental Development, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
¹² Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
¹³ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, The College of Physicians and Surgeons, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, And Pediatrics, Institute for Exposomics Research, Kravis Children's Hospital, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

PMID: 33098817
PMCID: PMC8060371
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.110320

Review

Prenatal air pollution exposure and neurodevelopment: A review and blueprint for a harmonized approach within ECHO

Heather E Volk et al. Environ Res. 2021 May.

. 2021 May:196:110320.

doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.110320. Epub 2020 Oct 22.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mental Health and Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: hvolk1@jhu.edu.
² Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
³ Department of Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
⁴ National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Durham, NC, USA.
⁵ Department of Environmental Health and Engineering and Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁶ Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁷ Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA, USA.
⁸ Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health, School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁹ Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
¹¹ Department of Geography and Environmental Development, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
¹² Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
¹³ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, The College of Physicians and Surgeons, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, And Pediatrics, Institute for Exposomics Research, Kravis Children's Hospital, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

PMID: 33098817
PMCID: PMC8060371
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.110320

Abstract

Background: Air pollution exposure is ubiquitous with demonstrated effects on morbidity and mortality. A growing literature suggests that prenatal air pollution exposure impacts neurodevelopment. We posit that the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program will provide unique opportunities to fill critical knowledge gaps given the wide spatial and temporal variability of ECHO participants.

Objectives: We briefly describe current methods for air pollution exposure assessment, summarize existing studies of air pollution and neurodevelopment, and synthesize this information as a basis for recommendations, or a blueprint, for evaluating air pollution effects on neurodevelopmental outcomes in ECHO.

Methods: We review peer-reviewed literature on prenatal air pollution exposure and neurodevelopmental outcomes, including autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, intelligence, general cognition, mood, and imaging measures. ECHO meta-data were compiled and evaluated to assess frequency of neurodevelopmental assessments and prenatal and infancy residential address locations. Cohort recruitment locations and enrollment years were summarized to examine potential spatial and temporal variation present in ECHO.

Discussion: While the literature provides compelling evidence that prenatal air pollution affects neurodevelopment, limitations in spatial and temporal exposure variation exist for current published studies. As >90% of the ECHO cohorts have collected a prenatal or infancy address, application of advanced geographic information systems-based models for common air pollutant exposures may be ideal to address limitations of published research.

Conclusions: In ECHO we have the opportunity to pioneer unifying exposure assessment and evaluate effects across multiple periods of development and neurodevelopmental outcomes, setting the standard for evaluation of prenatal air pollution exposures with the goal of improving children's health.

Keywords: Air pollution; Brain; Neurodevelopment; Prenatal exposure.

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Figures

**Fig. 1.**
Recruitment locations for the ECHO Cohorts.

**Fig. 2.**
Birth year of ECHO cohort participants.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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1. Anderson V, Spencer-Smith M, Wood A, 2011. Do children really recover better? Neurobehavioural plasticity after early brain insult. Brain : J. Neurol 134, 2197–2221. - PubMed
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Prenatal air pollution exposure and neurodevelopment: A review and blueprint for a harmonized approach within ECHO

Affiliations

Prenatal air pollution exposure and neurodevelopment: A review and blueprint for a harmonized approach within ECHO

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Figures

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical