Date of Award

2026

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology

Specialization

Clinical Psychology

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Nathan Cook

Abstract

About 2 in 5 Americans live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution. Poor air quality has been shown to lead to a diverse set of negative health that can affect the cardiovascular system and have downstream effects on brain structure and cognition. The detrimental impacts of air pollution on cognition have been widely studied, though due to methodological limitations in the available research, a direct association between air pollution exposure and cognitive development remains inconclusive and unclear. Further, studies in this area have largely focused on prenatal exposure and neurocognitive impacts during early childhood; the potential longer-term effects of exposure and development throughout adolescence remain unclear. This study set out to examine the relationship between exposure to poor air quality during late childhood (i.e., around age 9-10 years) and cognitive development over a period throughout early adolescence (i.e., from age 9-14). This study used data from 11,199 participants in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study cohort. Exposure estimates were derived from geocoded residential information. Scores from five NIH Toolbox Cognitive Battery subtests were used to assess neurocognition; these cognitive tests were administered at baseline, 2-year, and 4-year follow-ups. Linear mixed-effects models were used to assess effects of pollutant exposure on neurocognitive data, adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic confounders. Greater exposure to NO2 was associated with worse baseline performance on tasks of crystalized intelligence. PM2.5 was associated with moderately worse developmental trajectories on tasks of crystalized intelligence, attention, and memory. These results support the hypothesis that air pollution may change neurocognitive trajectories. It is important to continue to understand this relationship to help identify vulnerable children, as well as inform policy efforts aimed at reducing air pollution and promoting population brain health.

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