[Collins:] A new study links urban air pollution with lower childhood IQ scores. Children exposed to the most pollution in the womb had lower IQs compared to children with less exposures. Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta here now to talk more about this. All right. So you know me, I always want to know who did the study, how many people did they talk to? What is the scoop here?
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Chief Medical Correspondent:] Right. So we're not ready to draw an absolute cause and effect here. But this is something I have been fascinated with for some time. I actually I spent some time with the authors of the study. As the study was starting.
[Collins:] OK.
[Gupta:] And see how it sort of all play out. It was fascinating the way the do it. They have 700 women, pregnant women walking around New York City with these backpacks. You can see the backpacks there. They're sort of like these lungs, these fake lungs that measure all these different toxins that a woman would likely breathe in while she's pregnant. I'm trying to figure out is there a relationship between pollution, the amount she breathes in and the impact on your developing baby. And that was the real crux of the question the researchers are trying to figure out. What they found after they followed the pregnancy, they followed the delivery and the kids were five years out, and in fact, kids who had exposure to the highest pollution while in the womb had IQ points that were slightly lower than kids who didn't, about four to five points lower, which isn't a lot.
[Collins:] Yes.
[Gupta:] It's not going to make a huge difference in school. But it sort of speaks to this issue, is there some relationship between pollution and your overall, and the development of the baby. They really focused on the substance called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. You don't need to remember that, PCHS, but one thing about these substances, you can see them. That's what they are they come out of exhaust, come out of factories.
[Collins:] It makes you cough.
[Gupta:] It also crosses the placenta, which is something that I think is important here. I spent time with the lead researcher Frederica Perera about the specific issue, and she points out again that, you know, we're not talking about huge differences but over time continued exposure to this pollution, are you starting to bend the curve downward in terms of intelligence levels as a result of these exposures.
[Collins:] Yes, and I don't have an answer to this but as we look at video like that, when we say exposure to pollution, we're just talking regular everyday life of New York City, for example, where some of that was shot. You're just walking down the street or are we talking about like people who work in a factory or I'm sure all of that was accounted for.
[Gupta:] One thing I think that's worth pointing out is that you don't have to be living next to a factory that's belching out all sorts of different pollutants to get the exposure. That's one thing that came out of the study as well. On the other hand, there are probably a lot of things you can do on any given day to try and mitigate your risk, mitigate the impact of this.
[Collins:] Like?
[Gupta:] Well, I talked to her specifically about this. I'm hearing all these, and I got three kids and I'm thinking, "Well, tell me what you do." Here's what she said. Since I spent the day with you here, it's a little bit scary to when you think about being outside and breathing in all this stuff and these assaults on our bodies. I mean, how do we know how to protect ourselves without overdoing it, with being sensible?
[Dr. Frederica Perera, Columbia University:] Well, I think that's the key is being sensible and not panic and doing things that are reasonable.
[Gupta:] Yes, went on to say, you know, shutting your windows during high pollution season and trying to plan your walking routes, for example, to avoid the most congested parts of the day. But I think it's not all on the individual, part of it is in the community and the city as well. Idling law, for example. New York City, as you may know, not letting your car idle in front of buildings, it is starting to make a difference in air quality, but studies like this sort of remind us of why we need to do that.
[Collins:] Yes. Interesting to do studies like this around other parts of the world.
[Gupta:] That's right.
[Collins:] Where they deal with a lot of pollution.
[Gupta:] It's not just in a New York-centric issue.
[Collins:] All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much. Very interesting. Appreciate that. Also, we are watching this story today, it's a big gap and it's growing. Wealth disparities between black and white families. We're discussing ways to level the paying field.