Impact of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone on brain development and early mental health

Air pollution impairs children’s brain development, increasing risk of behavioural and mental health problems, and harming life chances. We urgently need to find out whether improving air quality can prevent harm to children’s developing brains. Currently both national and local government policies aim to reduce traffic pollution; the most ambitious of which is London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone. In this study we are exploiting these interventions to address whether reductions in traffic improve various indicators of how well children’s brains work: from response time, to problem solving and memory recall. In addition, we will look at general mental wellbeing, such as feelings of isolation or anxiety to see how these are affected by poor air quality. The COVID-19 lockdown has also produced an unprecedented reduction to traffic pollution and therefore there has never been a better opportunity to address this question.

By late summer 2022, we will have collected data over three years from primary school children in London and Luton. We now request funding to enable Dr Rosamund Dove to analyse the data, draw conclusions and disseminate findings to influence national and international policy.

Amount Awarded: £46,887