Background: Recent studies have reported that air pollution exposure may have neurotoxic properties.
Objective: To examine longitudinal associations between prenatal particles less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) exposure and neurodevelopment during the first two years of children's life.
Methods: Analysis was conducted in PROGRESS, a longitudinal birth cohort between 2007 and 2013 in Mexico City. We used satellite data to predict daily PM2.5 concentrations at high spatial resolution. Multivariate mixed-effect regression models were adjusted to examine cognitive, language and motor scores in children up to 24 months of age (n = 740) and each trimester-specific and whole pregnancy exposure to PM2.5.
Results: Models adjusted by child sex, gestational age, birth weight, smoking and mother's IQ, showed that each increase of 1 μg/m3 of PM2.5 was associated with a decreased language function of -0.38 points (95% CI: -0.77, -0.01). PM2.5 exposure at third trimester of pregnancy contributed most to the observed association.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that language development up to 24 months of age may be particularly sensitive to PM2.5 exposure during pregnancy.
Keywords: Neurodevelopment; PM(2.5); Particulate matter; Prenatal exposure.
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