"Coal plant closure in China led to improvements in children's health"

March 2014

"Coal plant closure in China led to improvements in children's health"

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140326142311.htm

     According to a study led by researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health at the Mailman School of Public Health, decreased exposure to air pollution in utero has proven to be linked with improved childhood developmental scores and higher levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a key protein for brain development. This study, the first to assess BDNF and cognitive development with respect to prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (component of air pollution commonly emitted from coal burning), looks at the closure of a coal-burning power plant in China.
     Deliang Tang, MD, DrPH, and his colleagues pursued two groups of mother-child pairs from pregnancy into early childhood. One group was made up of mothers pregnant while the coal power plant was still open and the other after it closed. Using the standardized test the Gesell Developmental Schedule (GDS), developmental delay was determined.
     The researchers found that decreased PAH exposure resulting from the power plant closure was associated with both increased BDNF levels and increased developmental scores. PAH-DNA adducts were significantly lower in the babies born after the coal power plant shutdown as compared to those born before the closure, indicating a significant exposure reduction. The impacts of PAH exposure and BDNF on developmental scores was also analyzed considering all the children, including both the pre- and post-closure groups. Increased scores in the average, motor, and social areas (seen in the GDS) were linked with higher levels of BDNF. "The results provide important insight into the relationship between PAH exposure, BDNF, and developmental outcomes, and evidence for BDNF as a marker for the neurodevelopment effects of exposure to air pollution."