How pollution can drive us (literally) crazy

40,000 deaths per year in France linked to exposure to fine particles, 7,000 to nitrogen dioxide, a cardiovascular risk increased by noise or light pollution … The harmful effects of pollution on human health are no longer to be demonstrated. But there is a subject that remains in the blind spot of research: pollutants can do significant damage to our brains … Overview.

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Air pollution: autism, Parkinson’s disease and psychiatric disorders

Pollution affects the neurodevelopment of children. “The overall evidence for a causal association (…) is increasingly convincing” between autism and exposure to fine particles PM2.5 (with a diameter of less than 2.5 µm), indicate experts from Public Health France (SPF) in a literature review published in September. Particularly when the mother is exposed in the first trimester of pregnancy, or in the child from 0 to 8 years old. Data also exist on attention disorders with or without hyperactivity (ADHD) but “The evidence remains to be consolidated”