The emergency rooms in Barcelona were collapsing under the pressure. Hundreds of patients were arriving in desperate need as they struggled to breathe, while intensive care units struggled to cope with the sudden influx of respiratory problems. Epidemiologists scrambled to trace the source of the outbreak.

This epidemic in the 1980s might bear some striking similarities to the coronavirus pandemic, but there was no infection to blame. The city was suffering from outbreaks of asthma.

Between 1981 and 1989, 26 outbreaks of asthma were reported in the Spanish city with many cases centred around the harbour. Local scientists eventually discovered that the cause was soybean dust released into the air when the cargo was unloaded.

Professor Jordi Sunyer from ISGlobal, the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, was one of the researchers who discovered the link to soybeans and investigates the effects of air pollution.

‘In the 80s, home combustion of coal was a major problem, and the levels of sulphur oxide were very high. This was controlled but now, especially in Europe, there is a dramatic increase in traffic and diesel combustion,’ he said.

As well as changes in the type of pollution, he says that we have come to understand better the extent of damage caused by air pollution, beyond the lungs.

‘In the 90s, it appeared that the cardiovascular system was a major target of air pollution. Then in 2008, there were studies in animals that showed an effect on the brain,’ he said. ‘This was because the size of the particles of pollution was so small that they could go into the brain and cause neuroinflammation.’

Another concern is that air pollution can raise the risk of developing autism spectrum disorder. Several studies in the US suggested that there is a link to air pollution, but the results from a big European project found no connection. However, this research brought together results from different studies that used different methods, which may have affected the results.

Read the full article about air pollution and brain development by Horizon Magazine at the Naked Scientists.