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   Air Pollution Linked to Rising ADHD Cases   
   By Annie Hauser   
   Published Nov 20 2014 11:42 AM EST   
   weather.com   
      
       
   Air pollution might be linked to increasing cases of ADHD in children, a study   
   of New York City women and children found.    
      
   Exposure to pollution before birth might be the key, researchers from Columbia   
   University's Mailman School of Public Health found, after a look at prenatal   
   levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), a component of air   
   pollution, and ADHD symptoms    
   in children later in life.   
      
   Mothers exposed to high levels of PAH during pregnancy had five times the odds   
   of symptoms that characterize inattentive ADHD in their kids at age 9. The   
   study is the first to examine prenatal PAH exposure and behavior in children   
   over time. Although it    
   shows a potential link between the two factors, it does not demonstrate that   
   air pollution exposure causes ADHD.    
      
   (MORE: All the Ways Air Pollution Hurts)   
      
   More than 10 percent of kids between 4 and 17 have one of the three forms of   
   ADHD (including inattentive ADHD, the kind in the study), according to the   
   U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC's figure comes from   
   self-reported cases from    
   parents, not verified doctor diagnoses.    
      
   Still, there's no doubt incidence of ADHD is on the rise, in part thanks to   
   increased awareness surrounding the disease.    
      
   The new findings on ADHD and air pollution add to CDC studies linking prenatal   
   PAH exposure to "developmental delays at age 3, reduced IQ at age 5 and   
   symptoms of anxiety/depression and attention problems at ages 6 and 7,"   
   according to a Columbia    
   University press release.    
      
   Car exhaust, power plants and other sources generate PAHs, substances linked   
   to heart disease, cancer and respiratory conditions.   
      
   As far as the mechanism for harm, it's likely that PAH causes DNA damage and   
   oxidative stress, as well as possible endocrine disruption and decreased   
   oxygen and nutrient levels in the placenta, researchers suggest. DNA damage   
   and oxidative stress are    
   also how air pollution damages the skin and other organs.   
      
   The study was published Nov. 5 in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One.   
      
   MORE ON WEATHER.COM: The Worst Cities for Air Pollution   
      
   1 of 25   
      
   24. Cleveland-Akron-Canton, Ohio (tie): This metropolitan area tied for the   
   24th most high-ozone days out 277 cities from 2010-2012, according to the 2014   
   State of the Air report from American Lung Association. (Wikimedia/Royalbroil)    
      
      
      
   http://www.weather.com/health/news/air-pollution-cause-rising-ad   
   d-cases-20141106   
      
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