Industrial Pollution's Impact on Cognitive Health May Last for Generations

A rare study design was published in Science of the Total Environment: scientists from the University of Utah looked at whether grandmothers’ exposure to industrial pollution during pregnancy affected the risk of intellectual disability (ID) in their grandchildren. Using Utah’s uniquely deep databases, the authors showed that the higher the density of potentially polluting industrial enterprises around the home of the maternal grandmother’s pregnant mother, the higher the chances of the child being diagnosed in the next generation. The work was published online on June 13, 2025, and included in the journal’s August 10, 2025 volume; the university published a detailed summary on August 20.

Background of the study

Intellectual disabilities and other developmental disabilities are not uncommon or “extreme cases”: About one in six children in the United States has at least one of these diagnostic categories, and the proportion of officially diagnosed intellectual disabilities in NHIS surveys varied significantly from 2019 to 2021. This is a big burden for families, schools, and health care, and a reason why scientists are increasingly looking at the role of environmental factors, from air quality to specific industrial emissions.

The link between prenatal pollutants and neurodevelopment has become particularly strong over the past decade. Meta-reviews and large cohorts show that maternal exposure to fine PM2.5 particles and related pollutants during pregnancy is associated with worse cognitive outcomes in children, including an increased risk of developmental disorders; separate studies by the same group of authors have already linked monthly (trimester) exposure to PM2.5 with the risk of intellectual disability. This is biologically plausible: pollutants cause systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, and epigenetic rewiring of brain development programs.

But classical studies are almost always limited to one generation (mother-child). Meanwhile, data are emerging that some effects are capable of “breaking through” further - through the germ cells of future parents and epigenetic memory. Reviews of clinical epigenetics and experimental models describe how chemical agents before conception and during pregnancy leave DNA/chromatin methylation marks that undergo a “restart” of the genome and are associated with risks in offspring. In human samples, such a design is rare, so multigenerational studies are an important next step that allows us to check whether the “trace” of the industrial environment is preserved from grandmother to grandchildren.

Technically, such work rests on data. The United States provides unique tools for the historical reconstruction of the industrial landscape: registries of enterprises with NAICS codes (what exactly was produced near home) and the Environmental Protection Agency's RSEI screening model, which summarizes toxic emissions by a relative "risk score." In combination with longitudinal family registries (as in Utah), this allows us to link the residential addresses of pregnant women of the past with the current diagnoses of their grandchildren, assessing not only the "number of factories nearby" but also the expected toxicological load. It is precisely this "archaeology of the industrial environment" that explains the value of the new study.

How it was studied: three generations on a map

The team linked the Utah Autism and Developmental Disabilities Registry to the Utah Population Database, a family tree of medical and demographic data spanning decades. The focus was on 6,380 children (generation F2) born between 2000 and 2014 across all counties in the state. For each grandmother (generation F0), the authors reconstructed the address of residence at the time of the child's birth (generation F1) and calculated the density of industrial facilities within 3 km and 5 km radii - using Dun & Bradstreet historical directories with NAICS codes. To assess not only the number of factories but also the potential toxicological profile, the density was additionally weighted by the Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI). Then, regression models compared these "grandmother's" exposures with the presence of an ID diagnosis in grandchildren.

Main results

• The maternal line is the strongest. For every +1 standard deviation in the density of industrial enterprises around the house of a pregnant maternal grandmother, the odds of ID in a grandson/granddaughter were 12% higher within a radius of 3 km (OR 1.12; 95% CI 1.03-1.22) and 9% higher at 5 km (1.09; 1.003-1.19). When taking into account the "toxicity" of objects according to RSEI, the estimates remained similar: 1.12 (1.04-1.20) for 3 km and 1.08 (1.003-1.17) for 5 km.
• The father's line also "winks". For the pregnant paternal grandmother, the associations with "raw" densities were weaker; when weighed by RSEI, the signal was amplified at 5 km (OR 1.12; 1.02-1.22).
• Overall conclusion: Historical prenatal exposure to industrial pollution - especially in the maternal line - is associated with an increased risk of developmental disorders (specifically, ID diagnosis) in the next generation.

Why this might happen

It seems counterintuitive: how can an adult child bear the “imprint” of his grandmother’s pregnancy? Biologically, two paths are most plausible. First, epigenetic “tuning”: when a grandmother is pregnant with a daughter, the germ cells of this daughter are laid down, which will become parents decades later - this is where a long-term mark from toxic exposures is theoretically possible. Second, cumulative environment: areas with industrial pollution often carry a “tailor” of inherited infrastructure, lifestyles and vulnerabilities - some risks can accumulate over generations. These are hypotheses, not proven causal chains, but they are consistent with a growing literature on the multigenerational effects of air pollution.

What new does this particular study add?

The authors did not measure abstract "smog", but reconstructed the industrial history of counties: where and when factories operated, how potentially risky they were by type of production (NAICS + RSEI), how close to home a pregnant woman lived. Such an "archaeological" approach, and even for three generations at once, is extremely rare - usually studies are limited to the exposure of one pregnancy and modern satellite air quality assessments. Here it is shown that the historical industrial environment leaves a statistically distinguishable trace in grandchildren.

How to read this without exaggeration

• This is an observational study: associations are shown, not proven causality. Confounding factors (migration, socioeconomic status of families, associated sources of pollution) remain possible.
• This is in Utah, where unique registries and family trees are available; portability of the results to other regions requires testing.
• Outcome - intellectual disability (ID), i.e. a specific clinical diagnosis from the group of developmental disorders; results are not about all cognitive outcomes at once.

What this means for politics and families - practical steps

- Cities and states:

• take into account historical industrial maps when zoning, soil and water remediation, prioritizing “inherited” areas;
• strengthen epidemiological surveillance and early screening of child development in areas with a dense industrial history;
• Integrate business registries (D&B/NAICS) with health data to assess multi-generational risks.

- Healthcare and schools:

• refer families from “industrial” areas for early developmental assessments and support (speech therapists, occupational therapy, individual developmental programs);
• train pediatricians and educators to recognize subtle signs of delays and quickly provide assistance.

- Families:

• if you live near an industrial area, practice good home hygiene (wet cleaning, HEPA vacuum cleaner, ventilation outside peak emission hours), test water and soil (where possible);
• During pregnancy, avoid secondary sources of toxicants (smoke, solvents), consult on food sources of metals (predatory fish, etc.).

Limitations and “what’s next” for science

Confirmations are needed in independent cohorts and with different pollutants (air, soil, water), longitudinal designs with biomarkers of exposure/effect (methylome, epigenetic clock) and better reconstruction of real exposure (not just “proximity to the plant” but also measured emissions). Comparisons by lineage (maternal vs. paternal) and assessment of the combined effect of maternal and grandmotherly exposures, which already yields higher risks in other studies on many pollutants, would be useful.

Research source: Grineski SE et al. Multigenerational impacts on polluting industries and developmental disabilities. Science of the Total Environment, volume 989, article 179888; ePub 13 June 2025; print - 10 August 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179888