New Delhi: Exposure to fine air pollution particles, known as PM2.5, during pregnancy may hinder brain development in newborns, a new study has found.
The research, conducted by scientists at Hospital del Mar, the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), and the CIBER area of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP) in Spain, examined the effects of extremely small airborne particles, about thirty times thinner than a human hair. These particles contain harmful substances from combustion and toxic organic compounds, as well as essential elements for brain development such as iron, copper and zinc.
Published in the journal Environment International, the study revealed that babies born to mothers exposed to higher levels of PM2.5 during pregnancy showed slower myelination, a crucial process in brain maturation where myelin coats nerve fibers to enable faster and more efficient communication between neurons.
“Our study shows that the myelination process -- a progressive indicator of brain maturation -- occurs at a slower rate in newborns most exposed to PM2.5 during pregnancy,” said Gerard Martínez-Vilavella, researcher at the MRI Unit of the Radiology Department at Hospital del Mar.
Researchers monitored air pollutant levels during pregnancy and selected 132 newborns for MRI scans within their first month of life to assess brain development through the degree of myelination.
“In the early stages of life, brain changes are large and complex. Both excessive slowdown and acceleration of brain maturation can be harmful to the child. However, it remains to be determined whether the observed effect is necessarily detrimental,” said Dr Jesús Pujol, head of the MRI Unit at Hospital del Mar.
He added that the study “opens an exciting new field of research aimed at determining the optimal speed of brain maturation during pregnancy and understanding how the mother and placenta may act as effective filters to protect and optimize this process.”
The researchers have called for further studies to explore how specific pollutants affect the developing brain of newborns.