According to research from China, air pollution is taking a toll on intelligence.

The study found that as people age, the effect is heightened, particularly for less-educated men.

"The damage on the aging brain by air pollution likely imposes substantial health and economic costs, considering that cognitive functioning is critical for the elderly for both running daily errands and making high-stake decisions," warned the report.

The effect, according to the report, is mostly found in cognitive performance associated with tasks that rely on verbal and math capabilities. To reach this conclusion, researchers monitored the math and verbal skills of roughly 20,000 people in China.

"We provide evidence that the effect of air pollution on verbal tests becomes more pronounced as people age, especially for men and the less educated," the study said.

The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.