A recent study by Jagiellonian University researchers suggests that breathing polluted air has an immediate and negative impact on school-aged children. Smog, particularly nitrogen dioxide, causes them to have impaired attention and lowered cognitive abilities.

For several years, a team of researchers from the Institute of Psychology at the Jagiellonian University involved in the ‘Neurosmog’ project has been analysing the effects of smog on the brains of growing children. So far, they have talked about the long-term impact – there is growing evidence that polluted air affects the development of ADHD, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease. However, recent research suggests that the impact of smog may also be immediate.

In the study, which involved more than 700 male and female schoolchildren aged 10-13 from towns and cities in southern Poland struggling with smog, the children were asked to complete 2 special computer tests. 

In the first test, the children were shown slides in which they had to quickly indicate the direction of a swimming fish. Occasionally, there was also a group of ‘obstructed’ fish swimming in a different direction. The researchers were interested in whether, under the influence of smog, the children needed more time to answer correctly. This simple task tests the efficiency of attention. The second test examined children’s ability to focus for longer periods of time and tame their impatience. 

“In the case of this test, the biggest effect we were able to capture was almost immediate. The test results showed that on days when high concentrations of NO2 were recorded, children’s attention and cognitive abilities deteriorated. This is because, at that time, the effort that the brain makes to solve a task is larger. This can translate into poorer learning outcomes, as well as problems in performing normal daily activities”, explains Nicholas Compa, the first author of the study.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński