Residential exposure to urban traffic is associated with the poorer neurobehavioral health of Ecuadorian schoolchildren

Abstract Purpose We investigated whether chronic traffic-generated air pollution containing fine and ultrafine particulate matter is associated with reduced neurobehavioral performance and behavioral dysfunction in urban Ecuadorian schoolchildren. Also, we examined the effect of child hemoglobin and sociodemographic risk factors on these neurocognitive outcomes. Methods A convenience sample of healthy children aged 8–14 years attending public schools were recruited in Quito, Ecuador. Child residential proximity to the nearest heavily trafficked road was used as a proxy for traffic-related pollutant exposure. These included high exposure ( Results Children with the highest residential exposure to traffic pollutants ( Conclusion The study findings suggest that children living within 100 m of heavy traffic appear to experience subtle neurobehavioral deficits that may result from fine and ultrafine particulate matter exposure.