Prenatal exposure to Hong Kong flu associated with reduced intelligence in adulthood
Wednesday, April 15, 2009 - 13:49
in Health & Medicine
The Hong Kong flu pandemic was responsible for more than 700,000 deaths worldwide in the late 1960s, with major disease outbreaks in Europe in the winter of 1969-1970. A number of studies have been conducted to determine if prenatal exposure to the influenza virus may result in mental disorders that affect a small portion of the population, but no studies have explored the possible effects of prenatal exposure on the mean intelligence in the general population. A new study found that early prenatal exposure to the Hong Kong flu may have interfered with fetal cerebral development and caused reduced intelligence in adulthood. The study is published in Annals of Neurology.
