ArticlePediatrics2009
Prenatal airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure and child IQ at age 5 years.
Article in Pediatrics, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 187 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
187 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Air Pollution and Cognitive Impairment across the Life Course in Humans: A Systematic Review with Specific Focus on Income Level of Study Area.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Association between exposure to air pollution during intrauterine life and cephalic circumference of the newborn.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2021Pooled it
- A Meta-Analysis of Stressors from the Total Environment Associated with Children's General Cognitive Ability.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled it
- Perinatal Exposure to Environmental Endocrine Disruptors in the Emergence of Neurodevelopmental Psychiatric Diseases: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Pooled it
- Outdoor Air Pollution and Brain Structure and Function From Across Childhood to Young Adulthood: A Methodological Review of Brain MRI Studies.Frontiers in public health · 2019Pooled it
- Exploring the endocrine activity of air pollutants associated with unconventional oil and gas extraction.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2018Pooled it
- Environmental risk factors for autism spectrum disorders.Der Nervenarzt · 2016Pooled it
- Contributions of a Child's Built, Natural, and Social Environments to Their General Cognitive Ability: A Systematic Scoping Review.PloS one · 2016Pooled it
- Neurobehavioural effects of developmental toxicity.The Lancet. Neurology · 2014Pooled it
- Portable HEPA Filter Air Cleaner Use during Pregnancy and Children's Cognitive Performance at Four Years of Age: The UGAAR Randomized Controlled Trial.Environmental health perspectives · 2022Trial
- Developmental effects of exposures to environmental factors: the Polish Mother and Child Cohort Study.BioMed research international · 2013Trial
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and perinatal outcomes: a scoping review.Pediatric research · 2026Review
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contribute to inflammation in a pregnancy cohort.Environmental research, health : ERH · 2026Article
- Review
- Prenatal exposure to particulate matter impairs offspring behavior via hippocampal NMDA receptor reduction: an in vivo and ex vivo study.Environment international · 2026Article
- Ligand-specific duality of aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling in cognitive health: from environmental neurotoxicity to microbiome-mediated neuroprotection.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- In utero air pollution exposure and pre- and postnatal brain development: a review.Neuroscience applied · 2026Review
- Air pollution exposures in early life and brain development in children (ABC): protocol for a pregnancy cohort study.BMJ paediatrics open · 2025Observational
- Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Mediate the Association between Tobacco Smoking and Alcohol Use Disorder.Yonsei medical journal · 2024Article
- E-waste: mechanisms of toxicity and safety testing.FEBS open bio · 2024Review
127 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThis study evaluated the relationship between prenatal exposure to airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and child intelligence.
methodsChildren of nonsmoking black or Dominican-American women residing in New York City were monitored from in utero to 5 years of age, with determination of prenatal PAH exposure through personal air monitoring for the mothers during pregnancy. At 5 years of age, intelligence was assessed for 249 children by using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised. Multivariate linear regression models were used to estimate and to test the associations between prenatal PAH exposure and IQ.
resultsAfter adjustment for maternal intelligence, quality of the home caretaking environment, environmental tobacco smoke exposure, and other potentially confounding factors, high PAH levels (above the median of 2.26 ng/m(3)) were inversely associated with full-scale IQ (P = .007) and verbal IQ (P = .003) scores. Children in the high-exposure group had full-scale and verbal IQ scores that were 4.31 and 4.67 points lower, respectively, than those of less-exposed children (<or=2.26 ng/m(3)). The associations between logarithmically transformed, continuous, PAH levels and these IQ measures also were significant (full-scale IQ: beta = -3.00; P = .009; verbal IQ: beta = -3.53; P = .002).
conclusionThese results provide evidence that environmental PAHs at levels encountered in New York City air can affect children's IQ adversely.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.