[Article Review] Revealing the Hidden Impact of Air Pollution on Health and Intelligence: A Review

Reference

Landrigan, P. J., Fisher, S., Kenny, M. E., Gedeon, B., Bryan, L., Mu, J., & Bellinger, D. (2022). A replicable strategy for mapping air pollution’s community-level health impacts and catalyzing prevention. Environmental Health, 21(1), 70. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-022-00879-3

Review

In this groundbreaking study, Landrigan et al. (2022) propose a replicable strategy for mapping air pollution's health impacts at the community level in Massachusetts. They demonstrate that air pollution exposure levels below current EPA standards still result in significant disease, death, and IQ loss, especially in low-income, minority communities. The authors urge for tighter air quality standards and government-incentivized transitions to renewable energy sources.

The researchers utilized EPA's Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis (BenMAP-CE) software and state data to quantify the effects of PM2.5 pollution on disease, death, and children's cognitive function (IQ Loss) in Massachusetts. They found that the annual mean PM2.5 concentration in the state in 2019 was 6.3 μg/M3, which is below EPA's standard of 12 μg/M3 but above WHO's guideline of 5 μg/M3. PM2.5 pollution was responsible for an estimated 2780 deaths, 308 low-weight births, 15,386 asthma cases, and a provisionally estimated loss of nearly 2 million Performance IQ points.

The findings highlight the urgent need for policymakers to take action to tighten air quality standards and implement pollution prevention measures. The authors suggest that enduring prevention will require a government-incentivized transition to renewable energy coupled with phase-outs of subsidies and tax breaks for fossil fuels.

This study is an essential contribution to the growing body of evidence showing the detrimental effects of air pollution on health and cognitive function, even at levels below current regulatory standards. By providing a replicable strategy for mapping air pollution's community-level health impacts, the research offers a valuable tool for informing policy decisions and catalyzing change.

[Article Review] Maternal Milk Feeding in Preterm Infants: The Key to Better Neurodevelopmental Outcomes?

Reference

Belfort, M. B., Knight, E., Chandarana, S., Ikem, E., Gould, J. F., Collins, C. T., Makrides, M., Gibson, R. A., Anderson, P. J., Simmer, K., Tiemeier, H., & Rumbold, A. (2022). Associations of Maternal Milk Feeding With Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 7 Years of Age in Former Preterm Infants. JAMA Network Open, 5(7), e2221608. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.21608

Review

The study by Belfort et al. (2022) examined the association between maternal milk feeding and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 7 years of age in preterm infants born at less than 33 weeks of gestation. The prospective cohort study involved 586 infants from five Australian perinatal centers who were enrolled in the Docosahexaenoic Acid for Improvement of Neurodevelopmental Outcomes study between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2005.

The researchers measured maternal milk intake, including mean volume (milliliters per kilogram per day) during neonatal hospitalization and total duration (in months), as well as neurodevelopmental outcomes at 7 years of age. The outcomes assessed were IQ, academic achievement, ADHD symptoms, executive function, and behavior.

The results showed that higher maternal milk intake during neonatal hospitalization was associated with better performance IQ, reading, and math scores, and fewer ADHD symptoms. Longer duration of maternal milk intake was associated with higher reading, spelling, and math scores. Interestingly, the study found that maternal milk feeding was not associated with improved full-scale IQ, verbal IQ, executive function, or behavior. Most associations were stronger among infants born at lower gestational ages, particularly less than 30 weeks.

In conclusion, the findings of Belfort et al. (2022) suggest that maternal milk feeding during neonatal hospitalization and after discharge might be associated with better school-age performance IQ and academic achievement, and with a reduction in ADHD symptoms, particularly among infants born at less than 30 weeks gestation.