Hey, scientific breakthrough! Pollution makes you dumber! Yes, once again, science has finally proven something we kinda figured out already. However, let’s get a little more specific here. This study we’re talking about here shows that prenatal exposure to pollution has a detrimental effect on a child’s IQ. The Associated Press (via Yahoo!) has the scoop from the study:

The results are in a study of 249 children of New York City women who wore backpack air monitors for 48 hours during the last few months of pregnancy. They lived in mostly low-income neighborhoods in northern Manhattan and the South Bronx. They had varying levels of exposure to typical kinds of urban air pollution, mostly from car, bus and truck exhaust.

At age 5, before starting school, the children were given IQ tests. Those exposed to the most pollution before birth scored on average four to five points lower than children with less exposure.

Four to five points isn’t HUGE, but because higher pollution usually goes with lower income, the study may “help explain why they often do worse academically than children from wealthier families.” Apparently, the effects on the brain are similar to lead exposure. That can’t be good. However, one science-type guy says that some more research is needed.

Dr. Robert Geller, an Emory University pediatrician and toxicologist, said the study can’t completely rule out that pollution exposure during early childhood might have contributed. He also noted fewer mothers in the high exposure group had graduated from high school. While that might also have contributed to the high-dose children’s lower IQ scores, the study still provides compelling evidence implicating prenatal pollution exposure that should prompt additional studies, Geller said.

Regardless, pollution, it seems, is not good for you.