Prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution and risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring: A nationwide population-based cohort study - A commentary on Oh and Song 2026.

This commentary examines how prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution may contribute to the aetiology of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Experimental work demonstrates that gestational exposure to air pollution and micro- and nanoplastics can induce neuroinflammation, synaptic disruption and autism- or attention-related phenotypes in rodents, supporting biological plausibility for pollutant-related NDD risk. Large-scale epidemiological studies have begun to link prenatal traffic-related pollutants with cognitive delay, behavioural difficulties and increased risk of ASD and ADHD, although most data come from Western cohorts. Against this backdrop, a nationwide South Korean cohort (>1.4 million births) reports that higher prenatal nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide exposure is associated with increased risk of clinically diagnosed NDDs into adolescence. These findings underscore prenatal air pollution as a modifiable, population-level risk factor for child mental health.