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Su JG, Aslebagh S, Vuong V, Shahriary E, Yakutis E, Sage E, Haile R, Balmes J, Jerrett M, Barrett M. Examining air pollution exposure dynamics in disadvantaged communities through high-resolution mapping. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadm9986. [PMID: 39110789 PMCID: PMC11305374 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adm9986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 07/08/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024]
Abstract
This study bridges gaps in air pollution research by examining exposure dynamics in disadvantaged communities. Using cutting-edge machine learning and massive data processing, we produced high-resolution (100 meters) daily air pollution maps for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and ozone (O3) across California for 2012-2019. Our findings revealed opposite spatial patterns of NO2 and PM2.5 to that of O3. We also identified consistent, higher pollutant exposure for disadvantaged communities from 2012 to 2019, although the most disadvantaged communities saw the largest NO2 and PM2.5 reductions and the advantaged neighborhoods experienced greatest rising O3 concentrations. Further, day-to-day exposure variations decreased for NO2 and O3. The disparity in NO2 exposure decreased, while it persisted for O3. In addition, PM2.5 showed increased day-to-day variations across all communities due to the increase in wildfire frequency and intensity, particularly affecting advantaged suburban and rural communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason G. Su
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Shadi Aslebagh
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Vy Vuong
- Propeller Health, 505 Montgomery St. #2300, San Francisco, CA 94111, USA
| | - Eahsan Shahriary
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Emma Yakutis
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Emma Sage
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Rebecca Haile
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - John Balmes
- School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Michael Jerrett
- Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Meredith Barrett
- Propeller Health, 505 Montgomery St. #2300, San Francisco, CA 94111, USA
- ResMed, San Diego, CA 92123, USA
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Brooks MM, Salvatore AL, Khanal P, Curriero FC. Mapping Cumulative Risk in Delaware: Approach and Implications for Health Equity. JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH MANAGEMENT AND PRACTICE 2024; 30:E112-E123. [PMID: 38320288 PMCID: PMC11009089 DOI: 10.1097/phh.0000000000001859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Addressing health equity requires attention to upstream determinants of health, including environmental and social factors that act in tandem to increase communities' exposure to and vulnerability to toxicants. Cumulative risk assessment, which evaluates combined risks from environmental and social factors, is a useful approach for estimating potential drivers of health disparities. We developed a cumulative risk score of multiple indices of environmental and social conditions and assessed block group-level differences in New Castle County, Delaware. METHODS This cross-sectional study used choropleth maps to visualize the distribution of environmental, social, and cumulative risks and Moran's I statistics to assess spatial clustering of cumulative risk across the county and among individual block groups. RESULTS Findings indicate that environmental risk rarely occurs without social risk and that environmental and social risks co-occur in distinct areas, resulting in large-scale clustering of cumulative risk. Areas of higher cumulative risk had more Black residents and people of lower socioeconomic status. CONCLUSIONS Replicable measures of cumulative risk can show how environmental and social risks are inequitably distributed by race and socioeconomic status, as seen here in New Castle County. Such measures can support upstream approaches to reduce health disparities resulting from histories of environmental racism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeline M Brooks
- Author Affiliations: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Spatial Science for Public Health Center, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland (Ms Brooks, Mr Khanal, and Dr Curriero); and Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware (Dr Salvatore)
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Tong R, Zhang B. Cumulative risk assessment for combinations of environmental and psychosocial stressors: A systematic review. INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT 2024; 20:602-615. [PMID: 37526127 DOI: 10.1002/ieam.4821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
With the growing awareness of stressors, cumulative risk assessment (CRA) has been proposed as a potential method to evaluate possible additive and synergistic effects of multiple stressors on human health, thus informing environmental regulation and protecting public health. However, CRA is still in its exploratory stage due to the lack of generally accepted quantitative approaches. It is an ideal time to summarize the existing progress to guide future research. To this end, a systematic review of the literature on CRA issues dealing with combinations of environmental and psychosocial stressors was conducted in this study. Using typology and bibliometric analysis, the body of knowledge, hot topics, and research gaps in this field were characterized. It was found that research topics and objectives mainly focus on qualitative analysis and community settings; more attention should be paid to the development of quantitative approaches and the inclusion of occupational settings. Further, the roles of air pollution and vulnerability factors in CRA have attracted the most attention. This study concludes with views on future prospects to promote theoretical and practical development in this field; specifically, CRA is a multifaceted topic that requires substantial collaborations with various stakeholders and substantial knowledge from multidisciplinary fields. This study presents an overall review as well as research directions worth investigating in this field, which provides a historical reference for future study. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:602-615. © 2023 SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruipeng Tong
- School of Emergency Management and Safety Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology-Beijing, Beijing, China
| | - Boling Zhang
- School of Emergency Management and Safety Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology-Beijing, Beijing, China
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Muleia R, Maúre G, José A, Maholela P, Adjei IA, Karim MR, Trigo S, Kutane W, Inlamea O, Kazembe LN, Marrufo T. Assessing the Vulnerability and Adaptation Needs of Mozambique's Health Sector to Climate: A Comprehensive Study. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2024; 21:532. [PMID: 38791752 PMCID: PMC11120973 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph21050532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
Climate change poses severe consequences, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where poverty rates may escalate by 2050 without significant climate and development action. The health impacts are diverse, encompassing communicable and non-communicable diseases. Mozambique, a climate-vulnerable nation, has experienced significant natural disasters in the past 42 years, impacting its health system. This study aims to assess Mozambique's health sector's vulnerability and adaptation needs to climate change. Following a methodology proposed by the World Health Organization and the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change, a six-step vulnerability and adaptation assessment was conducted to conduct the Health Vulnerability Index (HVI) for Mozambique's regions (n=161). The HVI integrates historical climate, epidemiological, and socio-economic data at the district level, and was computed using exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity dimensions. The results revealed spatial patterns in exposure to climate variables, extreme weather events, and variations in sensitivity and adaptive capacity across the country. The HVI mirrored the exposure findings. Notably, high vulnerability was observed in several districts, while major urban centers displayed lower vulnerability. These findings highlight the country's vulnerability to climate change and underscore the potential for adverse impacts on livelihoods, the economy, and human health. The study provides a foundation for developing strategies and adaptation actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachid Muleia
- Department of Mathematics and Informatics, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo 0101-11, Mozambique
| | - Genito Maúre
- Department of Physics, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo 0101-11, Mozambique;
| | - Américo José
- Department of Health Observation, National Institute of Health, Maputo 0205-02, Mozambique; (A.J.); (P.M.); (O.I.); (T.M.)
| | - Plácida Maholela
- Department of Health Observation, National Institute of Health, Maputo 0205-02, Mozambique; (A.J.); (P.M.); (O.I.); (T.M.)
| | - Isaac Akpor Adjei
- Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi AK-869, Ghana;
| | - Md. Rezaul Karim
- Department of Statistics, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka 1342, Bangladesh;
| | - Sónia Trigo
- World Health Organization Country Office, Maputo 280, Mozambique; (S.T.); (W.K.)
| | - Waltaji Kutane
- World Health Organization Country Office, Maputo 280, Mozambique; (S.T.); (W.K.)
| | - Osvaldo Inlamea
- Department of Health Observation, National Institute of Health, Maputo 0205-02, Mozambique; (A.J.); (P.M.); (O.I.); (T.M.)
| | - Lawrence N. Kazembe
- Department of Computing, Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, University of Namibia, Private Bag, Windhoek 13301, Namibia;
| | - Tatiana Marrufo
- Department of Health Observation, National Institute of Health, Maputo 0205-02, Mozambique; (A.J.); (P.M.); (O.I.); (T.M.)
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5
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Jain S, Gardner‐Frolick R, Martinussen N, Jackson D, Giang A, Zimmerman N. Identification of Neighborhood Hotspots via the Cumulative Hazard Index: Results From a Community-Partnered Low-Cost Sensor Deployment. GEOHEALTH 2024; 8:e2023GH000935. [PMID: 38361590 PMCID: PMC10867477 DOI: 10.1029/2023gh000935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
The Strathcona neighborhood in Vancouver is particularly vulnerable to environmental injustice due to its close proximity to the Port of Vancouver, and a high proportion of Indigenous and low-income households. Furthermore, local sources of air pollutants (e.g., roadways) can contribute to small-scale variations within communities. The aim of this study was to assess hyperlocal air quality patterns (intra-neighborhood variability) and compare them to average Vancouver concentrations (inter-neighborhood variability) to identify possible disparities in air pollution exposure for the Strathcona community. Between April and August 2022, 11 low-cost sensors (LCS) were deployed within the neighborhood to measure PM2.5, NO2, and O3 concentrations. The collected 15-min concentrations were down-averaged to daily concentrations and compared to greater Vancouver region concentrations to quantify the exposures faced by the community relative to the rest of the region. Concentrations were also estimated at every 25 m grid within the neighborhood to quantify the distribution of air pollution within the community. Using population information from census data, cumulative hazard indices (CHIs) were computed for every dissemination block. We found that although PM2.5 concentrations in the neighborhood were lower than regional Vancouver averages, daily NO2 concentrations and summer O3 concentrations were consistently higher. Additionally, although CHIs varied daily, we found that CHIs were consistently higher in areas with high commercial activity. As such, estimating CHI for dissemination blocks was useful in identifying hotspots and potential areas of concern within the neighborhood. This information can collectively assist the community in their advocacy efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sakshi Jain
- Department of Mechanical EngineeringUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBCCanada
| | | | - Nika Martinussen
- Institute for Resources Environment and SustainabilityUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBCCanada
| | - Dan Jackson
- Strathcona Residents AssociationVancouverBCCanada
| | - Amanda Giang
- Department of Mechanical EngineeringUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBCCanada
- Institute for Resources Environment and SustainabilityUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBCCanada
| | - Naomi Zimmerman
- Department of Mechanical EngineeringUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBCCanada
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6
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Bai Y, Liu M. Multi-scale spatiotemporal trends and corresponding disparities of PM 2.5 exposure in China. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2024; 340:122857. [PMID: 37925009 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023]
Abstract
Despite the effectiveness of targeted measures to mitigate air pollution, China-a developing country with high PM2.5 concentration and dense population, faces a high risk of PM2.5-related mortality. However, existing studies on long-term PM2.5 exposure in China have not reached a consensus as to which year it peaked during the "initially pollution, then mitigation" process. Furthermore, analyses in these studies were rarely undertaken from multi-spatial scales. In this study, a piecewise linear regression model was employed to detect the turning point of population-weighted exposure (PWE) to PM2.5 for the period 2000-2020. Multi-scale spatiotemporal patterns of PM2.5 exposure were evaluated during upward and downward periods at the province, city and county levels, and their corresponding disparities were estimated using the Gini index. The results showed that 2013 was the breakpoint year for PM2.5 PWE across China from 2000 to 2020. Cities and counties where PM2.5 PWE displayed increasing trends during the mitigation stage (2013-2020) basically became the heaviest PM2.5 exposure regions in 2020. High PM2.5 exposure was observed in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Central China, and the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang, whereas lower PM2.5 exposure regions were mainly concentrated in Hainan Province, the Hengduan Mountains, and northern Xinjiang. These cross-provincial patterns might have been overlooked when conducting macro-scale analyses. Province-level PM2.5 exposure inequality was less than the city- and county-levels estimations, and regional inequalities were high in eastern and western China. In this study, multi-scale PM2.5 exposure trends and their disparities over a prolonged period were investigated, and the findings provide a reference for pollution mitigation and regional inequality reduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Bai
- Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Menghang Liu
- Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
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7
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Wang W, Zeng J, Li X, Liao F, Li S, Tian X, Yin F, Zhang T, Deng Y, Ma Y. Using a novel strategy to investigate the spatially autocorrelated and clustered associations between short-term exposure to PM 2.5 and mortality and the attributable burden: A case study in the Sichuan Basin, China. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2023; 264:115405. [PMID: 37657390 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023]
Abstract
Due to the lack of statistical methods, few studies have investigated the spatial autocorrelated distribution in the association between short-term exposure to PM2.5 and mortality and used a statistical manner to explore the association-clustered regions, which play important roles in identifying high-sensitivity/susceptibility regions. The Sichuan Basin (SCB) is one of the most PM2.5-polluted areas, and the extreme economic imbalance may cause considerable spatial heterogeneity and clustering in PM2.5-mortality association. In this work, we used a recently proposed strategy by us to investigate the spatially autocorrelated and clustered association between daily PM2.5 and cardiorespiratory mortality from 2015 to 2019 in 130 counties of the SCB. First, generalized additive models were independently constructed to obtain the county-level association estimations. Then, an estimation-error-based spatial scan statistic was used to detect the association-clustered regions. Third, multivariate conditional meta autoregression was used to obtain the spatially autocorrelated association distribution, based on which the attributable deaths were mapped and their inequality was evaluated using the Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve. Results showed that two significantly association-clustered regions were detected. One is mainly located in the megacity Chengdu where PM2.5 presented a significantly stronger association with no threshold effect at low-level PM2.5 but a threshold at high-level PM2.5. In the other cluster, a threshold effect at low-level PM2.5 but no threshold at high-level PM2.5 were found. The mortality risk at low/middle-level PM2.5 decreased from Chengdu as the center to the surrounding areas. A total of 29,129 (2.0 %) deaths were attributable to the excess PM2.5 exposure. The attributable deaths also decreased from Chengdu as the center to the surrounding areas with Gini coefficients of 0.43 and 0.3 for absolute and relative attributable deaths, respectively. This novel strategy provided a new epidemiological perspective regarding the association and implicated that Chengdu is significantly deserving of more attention regarding PM2.5-related health loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Wang
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, China
| | - Jing Zeng
- Sichuan Provincial Center for Disease Prevention and Control, China
| | - Xuelin Li
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, China
| | - Fang Liao
- Sichuan Provincial Center for Mental Health, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu 610072, China
| | - Sheng Li
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, China
| | - Xinyue Tian
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, China
| | - Fei Yin
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, China
| | - Tao Zhang
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, China
| | - Ying Deng
- Sichuan Provincial Center for Disease Prevention and Control, China
| | - Yue Ma
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, China; Institute of Systems Epidemiology, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
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8
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Sangaramoorthy M, Yang J, Tseng C, Wu J, Ritz B, Larson TV, Fruin S, Stram DO, Park SSL, Franke AA, Wilkens LR, Samet JM, Le Marchand L, Shariff-Marco S, Haiman CA, Wu AH, Cheng I. Particulate matter, traffic-related air pollutants, and circulating C-reactive protein levels: The Multiethnic Cohort Study. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2023; 332:121962. [PMID: 37277070 PMCID: PMC10870935 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2023] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Inhaled particles and gases can harm health by promoting chronic inflammation in the body. Few studies have investigated the relationship between outdoor air pollution and inflammation by race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and lifestyle risk factors. We examined associations of particulate matter (PM) and other markers of traffic-related air pollution with circulating levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a biomarker of systemic inflammation. CRP was measured from blood samples obtained in 1994-2016 from 7,860 California residents participating in the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) Study. Exposure to PM (aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm [PM2.5], ≤10 μm [PM10], and between 2.5 and 10 μm [PM10-2.5]), nitrogen oxides (NOx, including nitrogen dioxide [NO2]), carbon monoxide (CO), ground-level ozone (O3), and benzene averaged over one or twelve months before blood draw were estimated based on participants' addresses. Percent change in geometric mean CRP levels and 95% confidence intervals (CI) per standard concentration increase of each pollutant were estimated using multivariable generalized linear regression. Among 4,305 females (55%) and 3,555 males (45%) (mean age 68.1 [SD 7.5] years at blood draw), CRP levels increased with 12-month exposure to PM10 (11.0%, 95% CI: 4.2%, 18.2% per 10 μg/m3), PM10-2.5 (12.4%, 95% CI: 1.4%, 24.5% per 10 μg/m3), NOx (10.4%, 95% CI: 2.2%, 19.2% per 50 ppb), and benzene (2.9%, 95% CI: 1.1%, 4.6% per 1 ppb). In subgroup analyses, these associations were observed in Latino participants, those who lived in low socioeconomic neighborhoods, overweight or obese participants, and never or former smokers. No consistent patterns were found for 1-month pollutant exposures. This investigation identified associations of primarily traffic-related air pollutants, including PM, NOx, and benzene, with CRP in a multiethnic population. The diversity of the MEC across demographic, socioeconomic, and lifestyle factors allowed us to explore the generalizability of the effects of air pollution on inflammation across subgroups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meera Sangaramoorthy
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Juan Yang
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Chiuchen Tseng
- Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jun Wu
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Program in Public Health, Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Beate Ritz
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Timothy V Larson
- Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Scott Fruin
- Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Daniel O Stram
- Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Sung-Shim Lani Park
- Population Sciences in the Pacific Program (Cancer Epidemiology), University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | - Adrian A Franke
- Population Sciences in the Pacific Program (Cancer Epidemiology), University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | - Lynne R Wilkens
- Population Sciences in the Pacific Program (Cancer Epidemiology), University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | - Jonathan M Samet
- Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Loïc Le Marchand
- Population Sciences in the Pacific Program (Cancer Epidemiology), University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | - Salma Shariff-Marco
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Christopher A Haiman
- Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Anna H Wu
- Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Iona Cheng
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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9
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Martenies SE, Zhang M, Corrigan AE, Kvit A, Shields T, Wheaton W, Around Him D, Aschner J, Talavera-Barber MM, Barrett ES, Bastain TM, Bendixsen C, Breton CV, Bush NR, Cacho F, Camargo CA, Carroll KN, Carter BS, Cassidy-Bushrow AE, Cowell W, Croen LA, Dabelea D, Duarte CS, Dunlop AL, Everson TM, Habre R, Hartert TV, Helderman JB, Hipwell AE, Karagas MR, Lester BM, LeWinn KZ, Magzamen S, Morello-Frosch R, O’Connor TG, Padula AM, Petriello M, Sathyanarayana S, Stanford JB, Woodruff TJ, Wright RJ, Kress AM. Developing a National-Scale Exposure Index for Combined Environmental Hazards and Social Stressors and Applications to the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:6339. [PMID: 37510572 PMCID: PMC10379099 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20146339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Revised: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
Tools for assessing multiple exposures across several domains (e.g., physical, chemical, and social) are of growing importance in social and environmental epidemiology because of their value in uncovering disparities and their impact on health outcomes. Here we describe work done within the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO)-wide Cohort Study to build a combined exposure index. Our index considered both environmental hazards and social stressors simultaneously with national coverage for a 10-year period. Our goal was to build this index and demonstrate its utility for assessing differences in exposure for pregnancies enrolled in the ECHO-wide Cohort Study. Our unitless combined exposure index, which collapses census-tract level data into a single relative measure of exposure ranging from 0-1 (where higher values indicate higher exposure to hazards), includes indicators for major air pollutants and air toxics, features of the built environment, traffic exposures, and social determinants of health (e.g., lower educational attainment) drawn from existing data sources. We observed temporal and geographic variations in index values, with exposures being highest among participants living in the West and Northeast regions. Pregnant people who identified as Black or Hispanic (of any race) were at higher risk of living in a "high" exposure census tract (defined as an index value above 0.5) relative to those who identified as White or non-Hispanic. Index values were also higher for pregnant people with lower educational attainment. Several recommendations follow from our work, including that environmental and social stressor datasets with higher spatial and temporal resolutions are needed to ensure index-based tools fully capture the total environmental context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheena E. Martenies
- Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Mingyu Zhang
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Anne E. Corrigan
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Anton Kvit
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Timothy Shields
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - William Wheaton
- Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | | | - Judy Aschner
- Department of Pediatrics, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Nutley, NJ 07110, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA
| | | | - Emily S. Barrett
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Theresa M. Bastain
- Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | | | - Carrie V. Breton
- Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Nicole R. Bush
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Ferdinand Cacho
- Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Carlos A. Camargo
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Kecia N. Carroll
- Department of Pediatrics, The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Brian S. Carter
- Department of Pediatrics-Neonatology, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO 64108, USA
| | | | - Whitney Cowell
- Department of Pediatrics, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Lisa A. Croen
- Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA 94612, USA;
| | - Dana Dabelea
- Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Cristiane S. Duarte
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Anne L. Dunlop
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Todd M. Everson
- Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Rima Habre
- Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Tina V. Hartert
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37203, USA
| | - Jennifer B. Helderman
- Department of Pediatrics, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, USA
| | - Alison E. Hipwell
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Margaret R. Karagas
- Department of Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA
| | - Barry M. Lester
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA
| | - Kaja Z. LeWinn
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Sheryl Magzamen
- Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Rachel Morello-Frosch
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management and School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Thomas G. O’Connor
- Departments of Psychiatry, Psychology, Neuroscience, and Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 41642, USA
| | - Amy M. Padula
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Michael Petriello
- Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and Department of Pharmacology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
| | - Sheela Sathyanarayana
- Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Joseph B. Stanford
- Department of Pediatrics, Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA
| | - Tracey J. Woodruff
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Rosalind J. Wright
- Department of Pediatrics, The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Amii M. Kress
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
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10
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Zhou L, Wang Y, Wang Q, Ding Z, Jin H, Zhang T, Zhu B. The interactive effects of extreme temperatures and PM 2.5 pollution on mortalities in Jiangsu Province, China. Sci Rep 2023; 13:9479. [PMID: 37301905 PMCID: PMC10257702 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36635-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Exposure to extreme temperatures or fine particles is associated with adverse health outcomes but their interactive effects remain unclear. We aimed to explore the interactions of extreme temperatures and PM2.5 pollution on mortalities. Based on the daily mortality data collected during 2015-2019 in Jiangsu Province, China, we conducted generalized linear models with distributed lag non-linear model to estimate the regional-level effects of cold/hot extremes and PM2.5 pollution. The relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI) was evaluated to represent the interaction. The relative risks (RRs) and cumulative relative risks (CRRs) of total and cause-specific mortalities associated with hot extremes were significantly stronger (p < 0.05) than those related to cold extremes across Jiangsu. We identified significantly higher interactions between hot extremes and PM2.5 pollution, with the RERI range of 0.00-1.15. The interactions peaked on ischaemic heart disease (RERI = 1.13 [95%CI: 0.85, 1.41]) in middle Jiangsu. For respiratory mortality, RERIs were higher in females and the less educated. The interaction pattern remained consistent when defining the extremes/pollution with different thresholds. This study provides a comprehensive picture of the interactions between extreme temperatures and PM2.5 pollution on total and cause-specific mortalities. The projected interactions call for public health actions to face the twin challenges, especially the co-appearance of hot extremes and PM pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lian Zhou
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Yuning Wang
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Southeast University, No. 87 Dingjia Bridge, Gulou District, Nanjing, 210009, China.
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine Engineering, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, China.
| | - Qingqing Wang
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Zhen Ding
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Hui Jin
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Southeast University, No. 87 Dingjia Bridge, Gulou District, Nanjing, 210009, China
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine Engineering, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Ting Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China.
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA.
| | - Baoli Zhu
- Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
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11
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Larsen K, Rydz E, Peters CE. Inequalities in Environmental Cancer Risk and Carcinogen Exposures: A Scoping Review. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:ijerph20095718. [PMID: 37174236 PMCID: PMC10178444 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20095718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Background: Cancer is the leading cause of death in Canada and a major cause of death worldwide. Environmental exposure to carcinogens and environments that may relate to health behaviors are important to examine as they can be modified to lower cancer risks. Built environments include aspects such as transit infrastructure, greenspace, food and tobacco environments, or land use, which may impact how people move, exercise, eat, and live. While environments may play a role in overall cancer risk, exposure to carcinogens or healthier environments is not equitably spread across space. Exposures to carcinogens commonly concentrate among socially and/or economically disadvantaged populations. While many studies have examined inequalities in exposure or cancer risk, this has commonly been for one exposure. Methods: This scoping review collected and synthesized research that examines inequities in carcinogenic environments and exposures. Results: This scoping review found that neighborhoods with higher proportions of low-income residents, racialized people, or same-sex couples had higher exposures to carcinogens and environments that may influence cancer risk. There are currently four main themes in research studying inequitable exposures: air pollution and hazardous substances, tobacco access, food access, and other aspects of the built environment, with most research still focusing on air pollution. Conclusions: More work is needed to understand how exposures to these four areas intersect with other factors to reduce inequities in exposures to support longer-term goals toward cancer prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristian Larsen
- Health Canada, Office of Environmental Health, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Environmental and Radiation Health Science Directorate, Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9, Canada
- CAREX Canada, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada
- Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada
- Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada
| | - Ela Rydz
- CAREX Canada, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada
- Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Cheryl E Peters
- CAREX Canada, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada
- Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
- Prevention, Screening and Hereditary Cancer, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4E6, Canada
- Population and Public Health, British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4R4, Canada
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12
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González DJX, Morton CM, Hill LAL, Michanowicz DR, Rossi RJ, Shonkoff SBC, Casey JA, Morello‐Frosch R. Temporal Trends of Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Population Exposures to Upstream Oil and Gas Development in California. GEOHEALTH 2023; 7:e2022GH000690. [PMID: 36968155 PMCID: PMC10035325 DOI: 10.1029/2022gh000690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
People living near oil and gas development are exposed to multiple environmental stressors that pose health risks. Some studies suggest these risks are higher for racially and socioeconomically marginalized people, which may be partly attributable to disparities in exposures. We examined whether racially and socioeconomically marginalized people in California are disproportionately exposed to oil and gas wells and associated hazards. We longitudinally assessed exposure to wells during three time periods (2005-2009, 2010-2014, and 2015-2019) using sociodemographic data at the census block group-level. For each block group and time period, we assessed exposure to new, active, retired, and plugged wells, and cumulative production volume. We calculated risk ratios to determine whether marginalized people disproportionately resided near wells (within 1 km). Averaged across the three time periods, we estimated that 1.1 million Californians (3.0%) lived within 1 km of active wells. Nearly 9 million Californians (22.9%) lived within 1 km of plugged wells. The proportion of Black residents near active wells was 42%-49% higher than the proportion of Black residents across California, and the proportion of Hispanic residents near active wells was 4%-13% higher than their statewide proportion. Disparities were greatest in areas with the highest oil and gas production, where the proportion of Black residents was 105%-139% higher than statewide. Socioeconomically marginalized residents also had disproportionately high exposure to wells. Though oil and gas production has declined in California, marginalized communities persistently had disproportionately high exposure to wells, potentially contributing to health disparities.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J. X. González
- Division of Environmental Health SciencesSchool of Public HealthUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyCAUSA
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and ManagementUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyCAUSA
| | - Claire M. Morton
- Mathematical and Computational Science ProgramStanford UniversityStanfordCAUSA
| | | | | | | | - Seth B. C. Shonkoff
- Division of Environmental Health SciencesSchool of Public HealthUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyCAUSA
- PSE Healthy EnergyOaklandCAUSA
- Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryEnergy Technologies AreaBerkeleyCAUSA
| | - Joan A. Casey
- Department of Environmental Health SciencesColumbia UniversityNew YorkNYUSA
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health SciencesUniversity of WashingtonSeattleWAUSA
| | - Rachel Morello‐Frosch
- Division of Environmental Health SciencesSchool of Public HealthUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyCAUSA
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and ManagementUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyCAUSA
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13
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Huang J, Li X, Zhang Y, Zhai S, Wang W, Zhang T, Yin F, Ma Y. Socio-demographic characteristics and inequality in exposure to PM 2.5: A case study in the Sichuan basin, China. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2023; 316:120630. [PMID: 36375581 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2022] [Revised: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The Chengyu Metropolitan Area (CYMA), located in the Sichuan Basin, is an unevenly developed region with high PM2.5 concentrations and a population of approximately 100 million. Although exposure inequality in air pollution has received increasing concern, no related research has been carried out in the CYMA to date. In this work, we used the concentration index to assess inequality of PM2.5 population-weighted exposure in the CYMA among different subgroups, including age, education, gender, occupation and GDP per capita in the city of residence. Our findings revealed that the non-disadvantaged subgroups (people aged 15-64, people with senior and higher education, people with high-income occupations and residents of cities with high GDP per capita) had a higher PM2.5 exposure in the CYMA, with the concentration indices of -0.03 (95% CI: 0.064, -0.001), -0.14 (95% CI: 0.221, -0.059), -0.15 (95% CI: 0.238, -0.056) and -0.27 (95% CI: 0.556, 0.012), opposite to previous studies in developed countries such as the United States and France. In addition, exposure differences among cities were much larger than those among populations in the CYMA. These findings may benefit the government in identifying disproportionately exposed subgroups in developing regions, and suggest that related measures should initially be carried out for cities exposed to high PM2.5 concentrations rather than for populations exposed to high PM2.5 concentrations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingfei Huang
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Xuelin Li
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Yi Zhang
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Siwei Zhai
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Wei Wang
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Tao Zhang
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; Institute of Systems Epidemiology, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, China
| | - Fei Yin
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Yue Ma
- West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; Institute of Systems Epidemiology, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, China.
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14
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Shen J, Taghvaee S, La C, Oroumiyeh F, Liu J, Jerrett M, Weichenthal S, Del Rosario I, Shafer MM, Ritz B, Zhu Y, Paulson SE. Aerosol Oxidative Potential in the Greater Los Angeles Area: Source Apportionment and Associations with Socioeconomic Position. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:17795-17804. [PMID: 36472388 PMCID: PMC9775201 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c02788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Oxidative potential (OP) has been proposed as a possible integrated metric for particles smaller than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) to evaluate adverse health outcomes associated with particulate air pollution exposure. Here, we investigate how OP depends on sources and chemical composition and how OP varies by land use type and neighborhood socioeconomic position in the Los Angeles area. We measured OH formation (OPOH), dithiothreitol loss (OPDTT), black carbon, and 52 metals and elements for 54 total PM2.5 samples collected in September 2019 and February 2020. The Positive Matrix Factorization source apportionment model identified four sources contributing to volume-normalized OPOH: vehicular exhaust, brake and tire wear, soil and road dust, and mixed secondary and marine. Exhaust emissions contributed 42% of OPOH, followed by 21% from brake and tire wear. Similar results were observed for the OPDTT source apportionment. Furthermore, by linking measured PM2.5 and OP with census tract level socioeconomic and health outcome data provided by CalEnviroScreen, we found that the most disadvantaged neighborhoods were exposed to both the most toxic particles and the highest particle concentrations. OPOH exhibited the largest inverse social gradients, followed by OPDTT and PM2.5 mass. Finally, OPOH was the metric most strongly correlated with adverse health outcome indicators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaqi Shen
- Department
of Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences, University
of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Sina Taghvaee
- Department
of Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences, University
of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Chris La
- Department
of Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences, University
of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Farzan Oroumiyeh
- Department
of Environmental Health Sciences, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School
of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Jonathan Liu
- Department
of Environmental Health Sciences, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School
of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Michael Jerrett
- Department
of Environmental Health Sciences, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School
of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Scott Weichenthal
- Department
of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1A2, Canada
| | - Irish Del Rosario
- Department
of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Martin M. Shafer
- Environmental
Chemistry and Technology Program, University
of Wisconsin−Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Beate Ritz
- Department
of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Yifang Zhu
- Department
of Environmental Health Sciences, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School
of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Suzanne E. Paulson
- Department
of Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences, University
of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
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15
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Collins TW, Grineski SE, Shaker Y, Mullen CJ. Communities of color are disproportionately exposed to long-term and short-term PM 2.5 in metropolitan America. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 214:114038. [PMID: 35961542 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.114038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
We conducted a novel investigation of neighborhood-level racial/ethnic exposure disparities employing measures aligned with long-term and short-term PM2.5 air pollution benchmarks across metropolitan contexts of the contiguous United States, 2012-2016. We used multivariable generalized estimating equations (GEE) to quantify PM2.5 exposure disparities based on the census tract composition of people of color (POC) and POC groups (Hispanic/Latina/x/o, Black, Asian). We examined eight census tract-level measures of longer-to-shorter term exposures derived from data on modeled daily ambient PM2.5 concentrations. We found associations between increased POC composition and greater exposure to all PM2.5 measures, with associations strengthening across measures of longer-to-shorter term exposures. In a GEE with a negative binomial distribution, a standard deviation increase in POC composition predicted a 0.6% increase (incidence rate ratio (IRR): 1.006, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.005-1.008) in the number of days PM2.5 concentrations were ≥5 μg/m3 (longest-term benchmark). In a GEE with an inverse Gaussian distribution, a standard deviation increase in POC composition predicted a 0.110 μg/m3 (1.0%) increase (B: 0.110, 95% CI: 0.076-0.143) in mean PM2.5 concentration. In GEEs with a negative binomial distribution, the effect of a standard deviation increase in POC composition on exposure strengthened to 2.6% (IRR:1.026, 95% CI:1.017-1.035), 3.4% (IRR:1.034, 95% CI:1.022-1.047), 4.2% (IRR:1.042, 95% CI:1.025-1.058), 16.2% (IRR:1.162, 95% CI:1.117-1.210), 22.7% (IRR:1.227, 95% CI:1.137-1.325) and 28.3% (IRR:1.283, 95% CI:1.144-1.439) with respect to the number of days PM2.5 concentrations were ≥10, 12, 15, 25, 35 and 55.5 μg/m3. POC group models indicated exposure disparities based on greater Hispanic/Latina/x/o, Asian, and Black composition. Evidence for stronger POC associations with shorter-term (higher concentration) PM2.5 exceedances suggests that reducing PM2.5 would attenuate racial/ethnic exposure disparities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy W Collins
- Department of Geography, University of Utah; 260 Central Campus Dr., Rm. 4625, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA; Center for Natural & Technological Hazards, University of Utah; 260 Central Campus Dr., Rm. 4625, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA.
| | - Sara E Grineski
- Center for Natural & Technological Hazards, University of Utah; 260 Central Campus Dr., Rm. 4625, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA; Department of Sociology, University of Utah; 380 S 1530 E, Rm. 301, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA
| | - Yasamin Shaker
- Center for Natural & Technological Hazards, University of Utah; 260 Central Campus Dr., Rm. 4625, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA; Department of Sociology, University of Utah; 380 S 1530 E, Rm. 301, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA
| | - Casey J Mullen
- Center for Natural & Technological Hazards, University of Utah; 260 Central Campus Dr., Rm. 4625, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA; Department of Sociology, University of Utah; 380 S 1530 E, Rm. 301, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA
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16
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Cheng I, Yang J, Tseng C, Wu J, Shariff-Marco S, Park SSL, Conroy SM, Inamdar PP, Fruin S, Larson T, Setiawan VW, DeRouen MC, Gomez SL, Wilkens LR, Le Marchand L, Stram DO, Samet J, Ritz B, Wu AH. Traffic-related Air Pollution and Lung Cancer Incidence: The California Multiethnic Cohort Study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2022; 206:1008-1018. [PMID: 35649154 PMCID: PMC9801994 DOI: 10.1164/rccm.202107-1770oc] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Rationale: Although the contribution of air pollution to lung cancer risk is well characterized, few studies have been conducted in racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse populations. Objectives: To examine the association between traffic-related air pollution and risk of lung cancer in a racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse cohort. Methods: Among 97,288 California participants of the Multiethnic Cohort Study, we used Cox proportional hazards regression to examine associations between time-varying traffic-related air pollutants (gaseous and particulate matter pollutants and regional benzene) and lung cancer risk (n = 2,796 cases; average follow-up = 17 yr), adjusting for demographics, lifetime smoking, occupation, neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES), and lifestyle factors. Subgroup analyses were conducted for race, ethnicity, nSES, and other factors. Measurements and Main Results: Among all participants, lung cancer risk was positively associated with nitrogen oxide (hazard ratio [HR], 1.15 per 50 ppb; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.99-1.33), nitrogen dioxide (HR, 1.12 per 20 ppb; 95% CI, 0.95-1.32), fine particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <2.5 μm (HR, 1.20 per 10 μg/m3; 95% CI, 1.01-1.43), carbon monoxide (HR, 1.29 per 1,000 ppb; 95% CI, 0.99-1.67), and regional benzene (HR, 1.17 per 1 ppb; 95% CI, 1.02-1.34) exposures. These patterns of associations were driven by associations among African American and Latino American groups. There was no formal evidence for heterogeneity of effects by nSES (P heterogeneity > 0.21), although participants residing in low-SES neighborhoods had increased lung cancer risk associated with nitrogen oxides, and no association was observed among those in high-SES neighborhoods. Conclusions: These findings in a large multiethnic population reflect an association between lung cancer and the mixture of traffic-related air pollution and not a particular individual pollutant. They are consistent with the adverse effects of air pollution that have been described in less racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse populations. Our results also suggest an increased risk of lung cancer among those residing in low-SES neighborhoods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iona Cheng
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California
- University of California, San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, California
| | - Juan Yang
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Chiuchen Tseng
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | - Jun Wu
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Program in Public Health, Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California
| | - Salma Shariff-Marco
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California
- University of California, San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, California
| | - Sung-shim Lani Park
- Population Sciences in the Pacific Program (Cancer Epidemiology), University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
| | - Shannon M. Conroy
- Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, California
| | - Pushkar P. Inamdar
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Scott Fruin
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | - Timothy Larson
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - Veronica W. Setiawan
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | - Mindy C. DeRouen
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California
- University of California, San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, California
| | - Scarlett Lin Gomez
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California
- University of California, San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, California
| | - Lynne R. Wilkens
- Population Sciences in the Pacific Program (Cancer Epidemiology), University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
| | - Loïc Le Marchand
- Population Sciences in the Pacific Program (Cancer Epidemiology), University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
| | - Daniel O. Stram
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | - Jonathan Samet
- Department of Epidemiology and
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, Colorado; and
| | - Beate Ritz
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Anna H. Wu
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
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17
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Li X, Baumgartner J, Barrington-Leigh C, Harper S, Robinson B, Shen G, Sternbach T, Tao S, Zhang X, Zhang Y, Carter E. Socioeconomic and Demographic Associations with Wintertime Air Pollution Exposures at Household, Community, and District Scales in Rural Beijing, China. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:8308-8318. [PMID: 35675631 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c07402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The Chinese government implemented a national household energy transition program that replaced residential coal heating stoves with electricity-powered heat pumps for space heating in northern China. As part of a baseline assessment of the program, this study investigated variability in personal air pollution exposures within villages and between villages and evaluated exposure patterns by sociodemographic factors. We randomly recruited 446 participants in 50 villages in four districts in rural Beijing and measured 24 h personal exposures to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and black carbon (BC). The geometric mean personal exposure to PM2.5 and BC was 72 and 2.5 μg/m3, respectively. The variability in PM2.5 and BC exposures was greater within villages than between villages. Study participants who used traditional stoves as their dominant source of space heating were exposed to the highest levels of PM2.5 and BC. Wealthier households tended to burn more coal for space heating, whereas less wealthy households used more biomass. PM2.5 and BC exposures were almost uniformly distributed by socioeconomic status. Future work that combines these results with PM2.5 chemical composition analysis will shed light on whether air pollution source contributors (e.g., industrial, traffic, and household solid fuel burning) follow similar distributions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoying Li
- Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1G1, Canada
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521, United States
| | - Jill Baumgartner
- Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1G1, Canada
- Institute for Health and Social Policy, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Christopher Barrington-Leigh
- Institute for Health and Social Policy, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1G1, Canada
- Bieler School of Environment, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2A7, Canada
| | - Sam Harper
- Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Brian Robinson
- Department of Geography, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0B9, Canada
| | - Guofeng Shen
- Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, Sino-French Institute for Earth System Science, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Talia Sternbach
- Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1G1, Canada
- Institute for Health and Social Policy, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Shu Tao
- Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, Sino-French Institute for Earth System Science, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Xiang Zhang
- Department of Geography, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0B9, Canada
| | - Yuanxun Zhang
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Regional Atmospheric Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China
| | - Ellison Carter
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521, United States
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18
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Baugh A, Buhr RG, Quibrera P, Barjaktarevic I, Barr RG, Bowler R, Han MK, Kaufman JD, Koch AL, Krishnan J, Labaki W, Martinez FJ, Mkorombindo T, Namen A, Ortega V, Paine R, Peters SP, Schotland H, Sundar K, Zeidler MR, Hansel NN, Woodruff PG, Thakur N. Risk of COPD exacerbation is increased by poor sleep quality and modified by social adversity. Sleep 2022; 45:6602021. [PMID: 35665826 PMCID: PMC9366643 DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsac107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
STUDY OBJECTIVES Sleep is an important dimension in the care of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but its relevance to exacerbations is unclear. We wanted to assess whether sleep quality as measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is associated with an increased risk of COPD exacerbations and does this differ by socio-environmental exposures. METHODS We included 1647 current and former smokers with spirometrically confirmed COPD from the SPIROMICS cohort. We assessed incidence rate ratios for exacerbation using zero-inflated negative binomial regression adjusting for demographics, medical comorbidities, and multiple metrics of disease severity, including respiratory medications, airflow obstruction, and symptom burden. Our final model adjusted for socio-environmental exposures using the Area Deprivation Index, a composite measure of contemporary neighborhood quality, and Adversity-Opportunity Index, a composite measure of individual-level historic and current socioeconomic indicators. We used a pre-determined threshold of 20% missingness to undertake multiple imputation by chained equations. As sensitivity analyses, we repeated models in those with complete data and after controlling for prior exacerbations. As an exploratory analysis, we considered an interaction between socio-environmental condition and sleep quality. RESULTS After adjustment for all co-variates, increasing PSQI scores (range 0-21) were associated with a 5% increased risk for exacerbation per point (p = .001) in the imputed dataset. Sensitivity analyses using complete cases and after controlling for prior exacerbation history were similar. Exploratory analysis suggested less effect among those who lived in poor-quality neighborhoods (p-for-interaction = .035). CONCLUSIONS Poor sleep quality may contribute to future exacerbations among patients with COPD. This represents one target for improving disease control. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION Subpopulations and Intermediate Outcome Measures in COPD Study (SPIROMICS). ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier# NCT01969344. Registry URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron Baugh
- Corresponding author. Aaron Baugh, University of California, San Francisco, Box 0111, 505 Parnassus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. E-mail:
| | - Russell G Buhr
- Department of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Pedro Quibrera
- Collaborative Studies Coordination Center, University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Igor Barjaktarevic
- Department of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - R Graham Barr
- Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Russell Bowler
- Department of Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Meilan King Han
- Department of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Joel D Kaufman
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Abigail L Koch
- Department of Medicine, Veterans Administration Miami Healthcare, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Jerry Krishnan
- Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Wassim Labaki
- Department of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | | | | | - Andrew Namen
- Department of Medicine, Wake Forest Baptist Health, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
| | - Victor Ortega
- Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - Robert Paine
- Department of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UA, USA
| | - Stephen P Peters
- Department of Medicine, Wake Forest Baptist Health, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
| | - Helena Schotland
- Department of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Krishna Sundar
- Department of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UA, USA
| | - Michelle R Zeidler
- Department of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Nadia N Hansel
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Prescott G Woodruff
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Neeta Thakur
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
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19
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Wang Y, Wang Y, Xu H, Zhao Y, Marshall JD. Ambient Air Pollution and Socioeconomic Status in China. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 2022; 130:67001. [PMID: 35674427 PMCID: PMC9175641 DOI: 10.1289/ehp9872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Air pollution disparities by socioeconomic status (SES) are well documented for the United States, with most literature indicating an inverse relationship (i.e., higher concentrations for lower-SES populations). Few studies exist for China, a country accounting for 26% of global premature deaths from ambient air pollution. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to test the relationship between ambient air pollution exposures and SES in China. METHODS We combined estimated year 2015 annual-average ambient levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and fine particulate matter [PM ≤ 2.5 μ m in aerodynamic diameter (PM 2.5 )] with national demographic information. Pollution estimates were derived from a national empirical model for China at 1 -km spatial resolution; demographic estimates were derived from national gridded gross national product (GDP) per capita at 1 -km resolution, and (separately) a national representative sample of 21,095 individuals from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) 2015 cohort. Our use of global data on population density and cohort data on where people live helped avoid the spatial imprecision found in publicly available census data for China. We quantified air pollution disparities among individual's rural-to-urban migration status; SES factors (education, occupation, and income); and minority status. We compared results using three approaches to SES measurement: individual SES score, community-averaged SES score, and gridded GDP per capita. RESULTS Ambient NO 2 and PM 2.5 levels were higher for higher-SES populations than for lower-SES population, higher for long-standing urban residents than for rural-to-urban migrant populations, and higher for the majority ethnic group (Han) than for the average across nine minority groups. For the three SES measurements (individual SES score, community-averaged SES score, gridded GDP per capita), a 1-interquartile range higher SES corresponded to higher concentrations of 6 - 9 μ g / m 3 NO 2 and 3 - 6 μ g / m 3 PM 2.5 ; average concentrations for the highest and lowest 20th percentile of SES differed by 41-89% for NO 2 and 12-25% for PM 2.5 . This pattern held in rural and urban locations, across geographic regions, across a wide range of spatial resolution, and for modeled vs. measured pollution concentrations. CONCLUSIONS Multiple analyses here reveal that in China, ambient NO 2 and PM 2.5 concentrations are higher for high-SES than for low-SES individuals; these results are robust to multiple sensitivity analyses. Our findings are consistent with the idea that in China's current industrialization and urbanization stage, economic development is correlated with both SES and air pollution. To our knowledge, our study provides the most comprehensive picture to date of ambient air pollution disparities in China; the results differ dramatically from results and from theories to explain conditions in the United States. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP9872.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuzhou Wang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Yafeng Wang
- Institute of Social Survey Research, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Hao Xu
- Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Yaohui Zhao
- National School of Development, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Julian D. Marshall
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
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20
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Racz L, Rish W. Exposure monitoring toward environmental justice. INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT 2022; 18:858-862. [PMID: 34633140 DOI: 10.1002/ieam.4534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Executive Order 14008, signed on 27 January 2021, established environmental justice (EJ) as a core priority of the Biden Administration. There is a need for state and federal regulators, as well as industry, to enhance risk assessment methods and exposure monitoring approaches to be more inclusive of EJ community involvement and more representative of EJ community exposures. Cumulative risk assessment models are critical for understanding the unique interaction between chemical exposures and nonchemical stressors that EJ communities encounter daily. Enhanced environmental monitoring with personal and portable sensors, especially when deployed using community partnerships, can capture chemical exposures with sufficient resolution to characterize exposures down to the neighborhood level. Use of internet-linked sensors will also require thoughtful advances in management of big data to inform meaningful and time-sensitive decisions. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:858-862. © 2021 SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- LeeAnn Racz
- ToxStrategies Inc., Fort Walton Beach, Florida, USA
| | - William Rish
- ToxStrategies Inc., Asheville, North Carolina, USA
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21
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Mullen C, Flores A, Grineski S, Collins T. Exploring the distributional environmental justice implications of an air quality monitoring network in Los Angeles County. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 206:112612. [PMID: 34953883 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.112612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Non-governmental air quality monitoring networks include low-cost, networked air pollution sensors hosted at homes and schools that display real-time pollutant concentration estimates on publicly accessible websites. Such networks can empower people to take health-protective actions, but their unplanned organization may produce an uneven spatial distribution of sensors. Barriers to acquiring sensors may disenfranchise particular social groups. To test this directly, we quantitatively examine if there are social inequalities in the distribution of sensors in a non-governmental air quality monitoring network (PurpleAir) in Los Angeles County, California. We paired sociodemographic data from the American Community Survey and estimates of PM2.5 concentrations from the USEPA's Downscaler model at the census tract level (n = 2203) with a sensors per capita (SPC) variable, which is based on population proximity to PurpleAir sensors (n = 696) in Los Angeles County. Findings from multivariable generalized estimating equations (GEEs) controlling for clustering by housing age and value reveal patterns of environmental injustice in the distribution of PurpleAir sensors across Los Angeles County census tracts. Tracts with higher percentages of Hispanic/Latino/a and Black residents and lower median household income had decreased SPC. There was a curvilinear (concave) relationship between the percentage of renter-occupants and SPC. Sensors were concentrated in tracts with greater percentages of adults and seniors (vs. children), higher occupied housing density, and higher PM2.5 pollution. Results reveal social inequalities in the self-organizing PurpleAir network, suggesting another layer of environmental injustice such that residents of low-income and minority neighborhoods have reduced access to information about local air pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Casey Mullen
- Department of Sociology, University of Utah, 380 S 1530 E, Rm. 301, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, United States.
| | - Aaron Flores
- Department of Geography, University of Utah, 260 Central Campus Dr., Rm. 4625, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, United States
| | - Sara Grineski
- Department of Sociology, University of Utah, 380 S 1530 E, Rm. 301, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, United States
| | - Timothy Collins
- Department of Geography, University of Utah, 260 Central Campus Dr., Rm. 4625, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, United States
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22
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Baugh AD, Shiboski S, Hansel NN, Ortega V, Barjaktarevic I, Barr RG, Bowler R, Comellas AP, Cooper CB, Couper D, Criner G, Curtis JL, Dransfield M, Ejike C, Han MK, Hoffman E, Krishnan J, Krishnan JA, Mannino D, Paine R, Parekh T, Peters S, Putcha N, Rennard S, Thakur N, Woodruff PG. Reconsidering the Utility of Race-Specific Lung Function Prediction Equations. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2022; 205:819-829. [PMID: 34913855 PMCID: PMC9836221 DOI: 10.1164/rccm.202105-1246oc] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Rationale: African American individuals have worse outcomes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Objectives: To assess whether race-specific approaches for estimating lung function contribute to racial inequities by failing to recognize pathological decrements and considering them normal. Methods: In a cohort with and at risk for COPD, we assessed whether lung function prediction equations applied in a race-specific versus universal manner better modeled the relationship between FEV1, FVC, and other COPD outcomes, including the COPD Assessment Test, St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire, computed tomography percent emphysema, airway wall thickness, and 6-minute-walk test. We related these outcomes to differences in FEV1 using multiple linear regression and compared predictive performance between fitted models using root mean squared error and Alpaydin's paired F test. Measurements and Main Results: Using race-specific equations, African American individuals were calculated to have better lung function than non-Hispanic White individuals (FEV1, 76.8% vs. 71.8% predicted; P = 0.02). Using universally applied equations, African American individuals were calculated to have worse lung function. Using Hankinson's Non-Hispanic White equation, FEV1 was 64.7% versus 71.8% (P < 0.001). Using the Global Lung Initiative's Other race equation, FEV1 was 70.0% versus 77.9% (P < 0.001). Prediction errors from linear regression were less for universally applied equations compared with race-specific equations when examining FEV1% predicted with the COPD Assessment Test (P < 0.01), St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (P < 0.01), and airway wall thickness (P < 0.01). Although African American participants had greater adversity (P < 0.001), less adversity was only associated with better FEV1 in non-Hispanic White participants (P for interaction = 0.041). Conclusions: Race-specific equations may underestimate COPD severity in African American individuals.Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01969344).
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron D. Baugh
- University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Stephen Shiboski
- University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | | | - Victor Ortega
- Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
| | - Igor Barjaktarevic
- David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - R. Graham Barr
- Columbia University Medical Center, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | | | | | | | - David Couper
- Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Gerard Criner
- Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Jeffrey L. Curtis
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Veterans Administration Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | | | | | | | - Eric Hoffman
- Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Stephen Peters
- Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
| | | | | | - Neeta Thakur
- University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
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23
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A Vector Field Approach to Estimating Environmental Exposure Using Human Activity Data. ISPRS INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEO-INFORMATION 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/ijgi11020135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Environmental exposure of people plays an important role in assessing the quality of human life. The most existing methods that estimate the environmental exposure either focus on the individual level or do not consider human mobility. This paper adopts a vector field generated from the observed locations of human activities to model the environmental exposure at the population level. An improved vector-field-generation method was developed by considering people’s decision-making factors, and we proposed two indicators, i.e., the total exposure indicator (TEI) and the average exposure indicator (AEI), to assess various social groups’ environmental exposure. A case study about the risky environmental exposure of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was conducted in Guangzhou, China. Over 900 participants with various socioeconomic backgrounds were involved in the questionnaire, and the survey-based activity locations were extracted to generate the vector field using the improved method. COVID-19 pandemic exposure (or risk) was estimated for different social groups. The findings show that people in the low-income group have an 8% to 10% higher risk than those in the high-income group. This new method of vector field may benefit geographers and urban researchers, as it provides opportunities to integrate human activities into the metrics of pandemic risk, spatial justice, and other environmental exposures.
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24
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Wan Y, Diamond ML, Siegel JA. Quantitative filter forensics for semivolatile organic compounds in social housing apartments. INDOOR AIR 2022; 32:e12994. [PMID: 35225385 DOI: 10.1111/ina.12994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Revised: 12/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Residents from low-income social housing are vulnerable to adverse health effects from indoor air pollution. Particle-bound concentrations of eight phthalates and 12 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in indoor air were measured using quantitative filter forensics with portable air cleaners deployed for three one-week periods from 2015 to 2017. The sample included 143 apartments across seven multi-unit social housing buildings in Toronto, Canada, that went through energy retrofits in 2016. Eight phthalates and six PAHs were found in more than 50% of the apartments in either of the three sampling periods. Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and phenanthrene were the dominant phthalate and PAH, with median concentrations of 146, 143, and 130 ng/m3 and 1.51, 0.58, and 0.76 ng/m3 in the late spring of 2015, and after retrofits in late spring 2017 and winter of 2017, respectively. SVOC concentrations were generally lower after energy retrofits, with significant differences for phenanthrene, fluoranthene, and pyrene. Lower concentrations post-retrofit may be related to less overheating and less need for opening windows. Concentrations of phthalates and PAHs in this study were similar to or higher than those reported in the literature. Results suggest that the use of portable air filters is a promising method to assess concentrations of indoor particle-bound SVOCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuchao Wan
- Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Miriam L Diamond
- Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- School of Environment, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jeffrey A Siegel
- Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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25
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Kazembe LN. Social Vulnerability and Childhood Health: Bayesian Spatial Models to Assess Risks from Multiple Stressors on Childhood Diarrhoea in Malawi. SPATIAL DEMOGRAPHY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s40980-021-00101-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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26
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Yang J, Ma S, Song Y, Li F, Zhou J. Rethinking of Environmental Health Risks: A Systematic Approach of Physical-Social Health Vulnerability Assessment on Heavy-Metal Exposure through Soil and Vegetables. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph182413379. [PMID: 34948988 PMCID: PMC8702039 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182413379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2021] [Revised: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In the field of environmental health risk assessment and management research, heavy metals in soil are a constant focus, largely because of mining and metallurgical activities, and other manufacturing or producing. However, systematic vulnerability, and combined research of social and physical vulnerability of the crowd, have received less attention in the research literature of environmental health risk assessment. For this reason, tentative design modelling for comprehensive environmental health vulnerability, which includes the index of physical and social vulnerability, was conducted here. On the basis of experimental data of heavy-metal pollution in soil and vegetables, and population and societal survey data in Daye, China, the physical, social, and comprehensive environmental health vulnerabilities of the area were analyzed, with each village as an evaluation unit. First, the polluted and reference areas were selected. Random sampling sites were distributed in the farmland of the villages in these two areas, with two sampling sites per village. Then, 204 vegetable samples were directly collected from the farmland from which the soil samples had been collected, composed of seven kinds of vegetables: cowpea, water spinach, amaranth, sweet potato leaves, tomato, eggplant, and pepper. Moreover, 400 questionnaires were given to the local residents in these corresponding villages, and 389 valid responses were obtained. The results indicated that (1) the average physical vulnerability values of the population in the polluted and reference areas were 3.99 and 1.00, respectively; (2) the village of Weiwang (WW) had the highest physical vulnerability of 8.55; (3) vegetable intake is exposure that should be paid more attention, as it contributes more than 90% to physical vulnerability among the exposure pathways; (4) arsenic and cadmium should be the priority pollutants, with average physical vulnerability value contributions of 63.9% and 17.0%, respectively; (5) according to the social vulnerability assessment, the village of Luoqiao (LQ) had the highest social vulnerability (0.77); (6) for comprehensive environmental health vulnerability, five villages near mining activities and two villages far from mine-affected area had high physical and social vulnerability, and are the urgent areas for environmental risk management. In order to promote environmental risk management, it is necessary to prioritize identifying vulnerable populations in the village-scale dimension as an innovative discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Yang
- Research Center for Environment and Health, Zhongnan University of Economic and Law, Wuhan 430073, China; (J.Y.); (Y.S.); (F.L.)
| | - Silu Ma
- Wuhan Planning and Design Company, Wuhan 430014, China;
| | - Yongwei Song
- Research Center for Environment and Health, Zhongnan University of Economic and Law, Wuhan 430073, China; (J.Y.); (Y.S.); (F.L.)
| | - Fei Li
- Research Center for Environment and Health, Zhongnan University of Economic and Law, Wuhan 430073, China; (J.Y.); (Y.S.); (F.L.)
| | - Jingcheng Zhou
- Research Center for Environment and Health, Zhongnan University of Economic and Law, Wuhan 430073, China; (J.Y.); (Y.S.); (F.L.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +86-027-8838-5413
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27
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Min E, Piazza M, Galaviz VE, Saganić E, Schmeltz M, Freelander L, Farquhar SA, Karr CJ, Gruen D, Banerjee D, Yost M, Seto EY. Quantifying the Distribution of Environmental Health Threats and Hazards in Washington State Using a Cumulative Environmental Inequality Index. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE (PRINT) 2021; 14:298-314. [PMID: 34484558 PMCID: PMC8404171 DOI: 10.1089/env.2021.0021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Background: Environmental racism, community stressors, and age-related susceptibility play a significant role in environmental inequality. The goal of this article was to use an inequality index (II) to assess the level of equality in environmental threats and hazards based on race, poverty, and age in Washington State. Methods: Using the Washington Environmental Health Disparities Map, we quantified the level of disproportionate burdens on communities with greater populations of people of color, people in poverty, children younger than 5, and people older than 65 using 3 cumulative environmental indices and 10 individual environmental indicators. Results: Census tracts with a higher proportion of people of color and those with people living below 185% federal poverty levels were found to be disproportionately burdened by environmental threats (II = -0.175 and II = -0.167, respectively, p < 0.001). Individual environmental indicators were found to disproportionately burden communities of color and low-income communities. Children younger than 5 were also disproportionately burdened by cumulative environmental indices (II = -0.076, p < 0.001) and individual indicators. Our analysis did not show disproportionate burden of environmental health threats based on the proportion of people older than 65 (II = 0.124, p < 0.001). Discussion: The disproportionate burden of the cumulative environmental threats on communities of color and low-income communities in this study corroborates similar analyses. These findings can be applied in policy and regulatory actions to correct the distributive environmental disparities. Conclusion: We found much higher burdens among historically marginalized communities and children who are more susceptible to environmental threats and hazards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther Min
- Dr. Esther Min is Research Consultant at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Millie Piazza is an Environmental Justice & Title VI Senior Advisor at Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Vanessa E. Galaviz is EJ Public Health Scientist at California Environmental Protection Agency Office of the Secretary and California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Sacramento, California, USA. Erik Saganić is Manager of Technical Analysis at Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Schmeltz is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Health, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, California, USA. Lauren Freelander is Spatial Epidemiologist & Radon Director at Washington State Department of Health, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Stephanie A. Farquhar is Associate Dean & Clinical Professor at Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Catherine J. Karr is a Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Pediatrics, and Director of Northwest Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Deric Gruen is Co-Executive Director, Programs and Policy at Front and Centered, Seattle, Washington, USA. Debolina Banerjee is a Climate Justice Policy Analyst at Puget Sound Sage, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Yost is Professor and Chair at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Edmund Y.W. Seto is an Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Millie Piazza
- Dr. Esther Min is Research Consultant at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Millie Piazza is an Environmental Justice & Title VI Senior Advisor at Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Vanessa E. Galaviz is EJ Public Health Scientist at California Environmental Protection Agency Office of the Secretary and California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Sacramento, California, USA. Erik Saganić is Manager of Technical Analysis at Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Schmeltz is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Health, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, California, USA. Lauren Freelander is Spatial Epidemiologist & Radon Director at Washington State Department of Health, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Stephanie A. Farquhar is Associate Dean & Clinical Professor at Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Catherine J. Karr is a Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Pediatrics, and Director of Northwest Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Deric Gruen is Co-Executive Director, Programs and Policy at Front and Centered, Seattle, Washington, USA. Debolina Banerjee is a Climate Justice Policy Analyst at Puget Sound Sage, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Yost is Professor and Chair at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Edmund Y.W. Seto is an Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Vanessa E. Galaviz
- Dr. Esther Min is Research Consultant at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Millie Piazza is an Environmental Justice & Title VI Senior Advisor at Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Vanessa E. Galaviz is EJ Public Health Scientist at California Environmental Protection Agency Office of the Secretary and California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Sacramento, California, USA. Erik Saganić is Manager of Technical Analysis at Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Schmeltz is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Health, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, California, USA. Lauren Freelander is Spatial Epidemiologist & Radon Director at Washington State Department of Health, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Stephanie A. Farquhar is Associate Dean & Clinical Professor at Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Catherine J. Karr is a Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Pediatrics, and Director of Northwest Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Deric Gruen is Co-Executive Director, Programs and Policy at Front and Centered, Seattle, Washington, USA. Debolina Banerjee is a Climate Justice Policy Analyst at Puget Sound Sage, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Yost is Professor and Chair at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Edmund Y.W. Seto is an Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Erik Saganić
- Dr. Esther Min is Research Consultant at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Millie Piazza is an Environmental Justice & Title VI Senior Advisor at Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Vanessa E. Galaviz is EJ Public Health Scientist at California Environmental Protection Agency Office of the Secretary and California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Sacramento, California, USA. Erik Saganić is Manager of Technical Analysis at Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Schmeltz is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Health, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, California, USA. Lauren Freelander is Spatial Epidemiologist & Radon Director at Washington State Department of Health, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Stephanie A. Farquhar is Associate Dean & Clinical Professor at Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Catherine J. Karr is a Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Pediatrics, and Director of Northwest Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Deric Gruen is Co-Executive Director, Programs and Policy at Front and Centered, Seattle, Washington, USA. Debolina Banerjee is a Climate Justice Policy Analyst at Puget Sound Sage, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Yost is Professor and Chair at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Edmund Y.W. Seto is an Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Michael Schmeltz
- Dr. Esther Min is Research Consultant at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Millie Piazza is an Environmental Justice & Title VI Senior Advisor at Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Vanessa E. Galaviz is EJ Public Health Scientist at California Environmental Protection Agency Office of the Secretary and California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Sacramento, California, USA. Erik Saganić is Manager of Technical Analysis at Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Schmeltz is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Health, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, California, USA. Lauren Freelander is Spatial Epidemiologist & Radon Director at Washington State Department of Health, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Stephanie A. Farquhar is Associate Dean & Clinical Professor at Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Catherine J. Karr is a Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Pediatrics, and Director of Northwest Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Deric Gruen is Co-Executive Director, Programs and Policy at Front and Centered, Seattle, Washington, USA. Debolina Banerjee is a Climate Justice Policy Analyst at Puget Sound Sage, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Yost is Professor and Chair at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Edmund Y.W. Seto is an Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Lauren Freelander
- Dr. Esther Min is Research Consultant at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Millie Piazza is an Environmental Justice & Title VI Senior Advisor at Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Vanessa E. Galaviz is EJ Public Health Scientist at California Environmental Protection Agency Office of the Secretary and California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Sacramento, California, USA. Erik Saganić is Manager of Technical Analysis at Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Schmeltz is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Health, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, California, USA. Lauren Freelander is Spatial Epidemiologist & Radon Director at Washington State Department of Health, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Stephanie A. Farquhar is Associate Dean & Clinical Professor at Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Catherine J. Karr is a Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Pediatrics, and Director of Northwest Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Deric Gruen is Co-Executive Director, Programs and Policy at Front and Centered, Seattle, Washington, USA. Debolina Banerjee is a Climate Justice Policy Analyst at Puget Sound Sage, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Yost is Professor and Chair at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Edmund Y.W. Seto is an Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Stephanie A. Farquhar
- Dr. Esther Min is Research Consultant at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Millie Piazza is an Environmental Justice & Title VI Senior Advisor at Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Vanessa E. Galaviz is EJ Public Health Scientist at California Environmental Protection Agency Office of the Secretary and California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Sacramento, California, USA. Erik Saganić is Manager of Technical Analysis at Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Schmeltz is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Health, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, California, USA. Lauren Freelander is Spatial Epidemiologist & Radon Director at Washington State Department of Health, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Stephanie A. Farquhar is Associate Dean & Clinical Professor at Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Catherine J. Karr is a Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Pediatrics, and Director of Northwest Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Deric Gruen is Co-Executive Director, Programs and Policy at Front and Centered, Seattle, Washington, USA. Debolina Banerjee is a Climate Justice Policy Analyst at Puget Sound Sage, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Yost is Professor and Chair at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Edmund Y.W. Seto is an Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Catherine J. Karr
- Dr. Esther Min is Research Consultant at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Millie Piazza is an Environmental Justice & Title VI Senior Advisor at Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Vanessa E. Galaviz is EJ Public Health Scientist at California Environmental Protection Agency Office of the Secretary and California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Sacramento, California, USA. Erik Saganić is Manager of Technical Analysis at Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Schmeltz is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Health, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, California, USA. Lauren Freelander is Spatial Epidemiologist & Radon Director at Washington State Department of Health, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Stephanie A. Farquhar is Associate Dean & Clinical Professor at Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Catherine J. Karr is a Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Pediatrics, and Director of Northwest Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Deric Gruen is Co-Executive Director, Programs and Policy at Front and Centered, Seattle, Washington, USA. Debolina Banerjee is a Climate Justice Policy Analyst at Puget Sound Sage, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Yost is Professor and Chair at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Edmund Y.W. Seto is an Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Deric Gruen
- Dr. Esther Min is Research Consultant at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Millie Piazza is an Environmental Justice & Title VI Senior Advisor at Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Vanessa E. Galaviz is EJ Public Health Scientist at California Environmental Protection Agency Office of the Secretary and California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Sacramento, California, USA. Erik Saganić is Manager of Technical Analysis at Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Schmeltz is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Health, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, California, USA. Lauren Freelander is Spatial Epidemiologist & Radon Director at Washington State Department of Health, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Stephanie A. Farquhar is Associate Dean & Clinical Professor at Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Catherine J. Karr is a Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Pediatrics, and Director of Northwest Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Deric Gruen is Co-Executive Director, Programs and Policy at Front and Centered, Seattle, Washington, USA. Debolina Banerjee is a Climate Justice Policy Analyst at Puget Sound Sage, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Yost is Professor and Chair at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Edmund Y.W. Seto is an Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Debolina Banerjee
- Dr. Esther Min is Research Consultant at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Millie Piazza is an Environmental Justice & Title VI Senior Advisor at Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Vanessa E. Galaviz is EJ Public Health Scientist at California Environmental Protection Agency Office of the Secretary and California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Sacramento, California, USA. Erik Saganić is Manager of Technical Analysis at Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Schmeltz is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Health, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, California, USA. Lauren Freelander is Spatial Epidemiologist & Radon Director at Washington State Department of Health, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Stephanie A. Farquhar is Associate Dean & Clinical Professor at Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Catherine J. Karr is a Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Pediatrics, and Director of Northwest Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Deric Gruen is Co-Executive Director, Programs and Policy at Front and Centered, Seattle, Washington, USA. Debolina Banerjee is a Climate Justice Policy Analyst at Puget Sound Sage, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Yost is Professor and Chair at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Edmund Y.W. Seto is an Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Michael Yost
- Dr. Esther Min is Research Consultant at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Millie Piazza is an Environmental Justice & Title VI Senior Advisor at Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Vanessa E. Galaviz is EJ Public Health Scientist at California Environmental Protection Agency Office of the Secretary and California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Sacramento, California, USA. Erik Saganić is Manager of Technical Analysis at Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Schmeltz is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Health, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, California, USA. Lauren Freelander is Spatial Epidemiologist & Radon Director at Washington State Department of Health, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Stephanie A. Farquhar is Associate Dean & Clinical Professor at Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Catherine J. Karr is a Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Pediatrics, and Director of Northwest Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Deric Gruen is Co-Executive Director, Programs and Policy at Front and Centered, Seattle, Washington, USA. Debolina Banerjee is a Climate Justice Policy Analyst at Puget Sound Sage, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Yost is Professor and Chair at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Edmund Y.W. Seto is an Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Edmund Y.W. Seto
- Dr. Esther Min is Research Consultant at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Millie Piazza is an Environmental Justice & Title VI Senior Advisor at Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Vanessa E. Galaviz is EJ Public Health Scientist at California Environmental Protection Agency Office of the Secretary and California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Sacramento, California, USA. Erik Saganić is Manager of Technical Analysis at Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Schmeltz is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Health, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, California, USA. Lauren Freelander is Spatial Epidemiologist & Radon Director at Washington State Department of Health, Olympia, Washington, USA. Dr. Stephanie A. Farquhar is Associate Dean & Clinical Professor at Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Catherine J. Karr is a Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Department of Pediatrics, and Director of Northwest Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Deric Gruen is Co-Executive Director, Programs and Policy at Front and Centered, Seattle, Washington, USA. Debolina Banerjee is a Climate Justice Policy Analyst at Puget Sound Sage, Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr. Michael Yost is Professor and Chair at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. Edmund Y.W. Seto is an Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
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Spatial variation in the joint effect of extreme heat events and ozone on respiratory hospitalizations in California. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2023078118. [PMID: 34031244 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2023078118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Extreme heat and ozone are co-occurring exposures that independently and synergistically increase the risk of respiratory disease. To our knowledge, no joint warning systems consider both risks; understanding their interactive effect can warrant use of comprehensive warning systems to reduce their burden. We examined heterogeneity in joint effects (on the additive scale) between heat and ozone at small geographical scales. A within-community matched design with a Bayesian hierarchical model was applied to study this association at the zip code level. Spatially varying relative risks due to interaction (RERI) were quantified to consider joint effects. Determinants of the spatial variability of effects were assessed using a random effects metaregression to consider the role of demographic/neighborhood characteristics that are known effect modifiers. A total of 817,354 unscheduled respiratory hospitalizations occurred in California from 2004 to 2013 in the May to September period. RERIs revealed no additive interaction when considering overall joint effects. However, when considering the zip code level, certain areas observed strong joint effects. A lower median income, higher percentage of unemployed residents, and exposure to other air pollutants within a zip code drove stronger joint effects; a higher percentage of commuters who walk/bicycle, a marker for neighborhood wealth, showed decreased effects. Results indicate the importance of going beyond average measures to consider spatial variation in the health burden of these exposures and predictors of joint effects. This information can be used to inform early warning systems that consider both heat and ozone to protect populations from these deleterious effects in identified areas.
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Levy JI. Accounting for Health Risk Inequality in Regulatory Impact Analysis: Barriers and Opportunities. RISK ANALYSIS : AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE SOCIETY FOR RISK ANALYSIS 2021; 41:610-618. [PMID: 33580582 PMCID: PMC8759631 DOI: 10.1111/risa.13714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2019] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
There has been increasing interest in accounting for inequality in health risks and benefits within regulatory impact analyses, both given more general interest in the distributions of benefits and growing concerns about inequity (defined as those inequalities deemed unjust or unfair) and environmental injustice (in this context, those health risk inequalities that are correlated with race/ethnicity and certain other sociodemographic factors). Although there has been growing literature on this topic, there has been limited progress in practice, and the lack of quantification limits consideration of inequality in the policy process. Controversy remains regarding the best approaches to formally incorporate inequality, when these approaches should be used, and even whether it makes sense to quantify inequality in this context. The objective of this article is to review the literature on approaches for incorporating estimates of, and concerns for, inequality into regulatory impact analyses, especially those where environmental justice considerations are relevant, and consider the interpretation of these approaches and the implications for decision making. Using the case example of the Transportation and Climate Initiative, a collaboration among Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states to reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector, multiple strategies are described that could be used to shed light on health risk inequality and inequity, consider them in pending policy decisions, and evaluate their implications for the policy or instrument choice. Given appropriate contextualization and acknowledgment of the multidimensionality of equity, quantitative inequality indicators can provide meaningful insight about both inequality and inequity in health risks.
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Schulz AJ, Omari A, Ward M, Mentz GB, Demajo R, Sampson N, Israel BA, Reyes AG, Wilkins D. Independent and joint contributions of economic, social and physical environmental characteristics to mortality in the Detroit Metropolitan Area: A study of cumulative effects and pathways. Health Place 2020; 65:102391. [PMID: 32738606 PMCID: PMC7511424 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2020.102391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2020] [Revised: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Previous studies have demonstrated associations between race-based residential segregation, neighborhood socioeconomic and physical environmental characteristics, and mortality. Relatively few studies have examined independent and joint effects of these multiple neighborhood characteristics and mortality, including potential mediating pathways. In this study we examine the extent to which associations between race-based residential segregation and all-cause mortality may be explained by multiple socioeconomic indicators and exposure to air pollutants. METHODS Drawing on data from multiple sources, we assessed bivariate associations between race-based residential segregation (operationalized as percent non-Hispanic Black), education (percent with graduate equivalency degree), poverty (percent below poverty), income inequality (GINI coefficient) and air pollution (ambient PM2.5) and age adjusted all-cause, all race mortality (henceforth all cause mortality) at the census tract level in the Detroit Metropolitan Area. We used inequality curves to assess the (in)equitable distribution of economic and environmental characteristics by census tract racial composition. Finally, we used generalized estimating equations (GEE) to examine independent and joint associations among percent NHB, education, income inequality, and air pollution to all-cause mortality, and test for mediating effects. RESULTS Bivariate associations between racial composition, education, poverty, income inequality, PM2.5 and all-cause mortality were statistically significant. Census tracts with higher concentrations of NHB residents had significantly lower educational attainment, higher poverty, and greater exposure to PM2.5. In multivariate models, education, income inequality and PM2.5 fully attenuated associations between racial composition and all-cause mortality. CONCLUSIONS Results are consistent with the hypothesis that race-based residential segregation is associated with heightened all-cause mortality, and that those effects are mediated by education, income inequality, and exposure to air pollution at the census tract level. Public health and cross-sector interventions to eliminate race-based residential segregation or to eliminate the maldistribution of educational and economic resources, and environmental exposures, across census tracts could substantially reduce regional inequities in all-cause mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy J Schulz
- Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | - Amel Omari
- Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Melanie Ward
- Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Graciela B Mentz
- Department of Anesthesiology, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Ricardo Demajo
- Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Natalie Sampson
- College of Education, Health and Human Services, University of Michigan Dearborn, Dearborn, MI, USA
| | - Barbara A Israel
- Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Angela G Reyes
- Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation, Detroit, MI, USA
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A Framework to Classify Environmental Inequity in Absolute and Relative Terms, and Its Application in Beijing. SUSTAINABILITY 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/su12114757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Although reducing environmental inequities is widely recognized as an essential step towards sustainable cities, decision-makers frequently lack the tools to identify inequity distribution patterns and designing effective intervention policies. This study seeks to present a framework that can help decision-making processes by classifying environmental inequity districts in multiple perspectives, especially in absolute and relative terms. This framework includes four steps: (A) variable selection, (B) data normalization, (C) ranking indicators, (D) summarizing inequity classification, which then assign results to selected areas. The framework aims to classify and compare environmental inequities in multiple perspectives, and can be applied in various environmental problems, with advantages such as high acceptability and clear comprehensibility. To show the potential use of this framework, a case application in Beijing, China, was conducted to evaluate the environmental inequity of air pollution. The results suggest that decision-makers should focus on the central urban area and some southern regions of Beijing to implement various improvement policies. Based on the results from Beijing, how the framework can be used to help decision-makers, the future roles of this framework with the government and the public, as well as the framework’s limitations are further discussed.
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Koman PD, Romo F, Swinton P, Mentz GB, de Majo RF, Sampson NR, Battaglia MJ, Hill-Knott K, Williams GO, O'Neill MS, Schulz AJ. MI-Environment: Geospatial patterns and inequality of relative heat stress vulnerability in Michigan. Health Place 2019; 60:102228. [PMID: 31654921 PMCID: PMC6944282 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.102228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Revised: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 09/20/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Heat stress causes morbidity and mortality and is increasing with climate change. Heat stress can pose particular challenges in northern regions not well adapted to heat. To assist decision makers, we identified the relative vulnerability of census tracts within Michigan to factors that increase exposure to heat stress or reflect susceptibilities in the population based on a California heat vulnerability index. In the MI-Environment assessment, we used a Geographic Information System (GIS) to combine future ensemble climate model projections to create a total of 9 geospatial and demographic variables. As part of a broader planned cumulative environmental exposure assessment, the statewide heat vulnerability index (HVI) maps display the location and relative magnitude of exposure on three metrics: built environment (Place), future expected long-term temperature averages (Temperature), and population susceptibility (People). We observed varied and distinct patterns for each of the three component indices. We assessed how equitably those exposures are distributed by racial and socioeconomic factors. This analysis showed that each of the component indices and the aggregate HVI are disproportionately distributed along racial and socioeconomic lines in Michigan. Census tracts with higher percentages of people of color had larger exposure to HVI factors with a deviation from equity of -0.115 [95% CI -0.108, -0.122]. Similarly, for census tracts with higher percentage of people experiencing poverty, the deviation from equity was -0.101 [95% CI -0.094, -0.107]. The MI-Environment visualization tool can help communities prepare for climate change and resolve inequities by identifying census tracts with the most vulnerable residents and highest potential exposures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia D Koman
- University of Michigan School of Public Health, Environmental Health Sciences Department, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
| | - Frank Romo
- University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, 2000 Bonisteel Blvd, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
| | - Peter Swinton
- University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, 2000 Bonisteel Blvd, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
| | - Graciela B Mentz
- University of Michigan School of Public Health, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
| | - Ricardo F de Majo
- University of Michigan School of Public Health, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
| | - Natalie R Sampson
- University of Michigan -Dearborn, Department of Health & Human Services, 19000 Hubbard Drive, Fairlane Center South, Dearborn, MI, 48126, USA.
| | - Michael J Battaglia
- Michigan Technological Research Institute, Michigan Technological University, 3600 Green Road, Suite 100, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, USA.
| | - Kimberly Hill-Knott
- Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, 4750 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA.
| | - Guy O Williams
- Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, 4750 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA.
| | - Marie S O'Neill
- University of Michigan School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health Sciences Department, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
| | - Amy J Schulz
- University of Michigan School of Public Health, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
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Liévanos RS. Racialized Structural Vulnerability: Neighborhood Racial Composition, Concentrated Disadvantage, and Fine Particulate Matter in California. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2019; 16:ijerph16173196. [PMID: 31480556 PMCID: PMC6747230 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16173196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2019] [Revised: 08/28/2019] [Accepted: 08/29/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
This study contributes to previous research by advancing a “racialized structural vulnerability” framework and presenting a new empirical analysis of the relationship between neighborhood Asian, Black, and Latinx composition; extrinsic and intrinsic vulnerability; and PM2.5 exposures in California with secondary data from 2004–2014. Principal component analyses revealed that tract Latinx composition was highly correlated with extrinsic vulnerability (economic disadvantage and limited English-speaking ability), and that tract Black composition was highly correlated with intrinsic vulnerability (elevated prevalence of asthma-related emergency department visits and low birth weight). Spatial lag regression models tested hypotheses regarding the association between Asian, Black, and Latinx population vulnerability factors and the 2009–2011 annual average PM2.5 percentile rankings, net of emissions and spatial covariates. Results indicated that the percent Latinx population, followed by the regional clustering of PM2.5, and the percent of non-Latinx Black and non-Latinx Asian population were the strongest positive multivariable correlates of PM2.5 percentile rankings, net of other factors. Additional analyses suggested that despite shifting demographic and spatial correlates of 2012–2014 PM2.5 exposures, the tracts’ Black and Latinx composition and location in the San Joaquin Valley remain important vulnerability factors with implications for future research and policy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raoul S Liévanos
- Department of Sociology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1291, USA.
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Burwell-Naney K, Wilson SM, Whitlock ST, Puett R. Hybrid Resiliency-Stressor Conceptual Framework for Informing Decision Support Tools and Addressing Environmental Injustice and Health Inequities. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2019; 16:E1466. [PMID: 31027209 PMCID: PMC6518295 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16081466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2019] [Revised: 04/19/2019] [Accepted: 04/19/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
While structural factors may drive health inequities, certain health-promoting attributes of one's "place" known as salutogens may further moderate the cumulative impacts of exposures to socio-environmental stressors that behave as pathogens. Understanding the synergistic relationship between socio-environmental stressors and resilience factors is a critical component in reducing health inequities; however, the catalyst for this concept relies on community-engaged research approaches to ultimately strengthen resiliency and promote health. Furthermore, this concept has not been fully integrated into environmental justice and cumulative risk assessment screening tools designed to identify geospatial variability in environmental factors that may be associated with health inequities. As a result, we propose a hybrid resiliency-stressor conceptual framework to inform the development of environmental justice and cumulative risk assessment screening tools that can detect environmental inequities and opportunities for resilience in vulnerable populations. We explore the relationship between actual exposures to socio-environmental stressors, perceptions of stressors, and one's physiological and psychological stress response to environmental stimuli, which collectively may perpetuate health inequities by increasing allostatic load and initiating disease onset. This comprehensive framework expands the scope of existing screening tools to inform action-based solutions that rely on community-engaged research efforts to increase resiliency and promote positive health outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen Burwell-Naney
- Center for Outreach in Alzheimer's, Aging and Community Health, North Carolina A&T State University, 2105 Yanceyville Street, Greensboro, NC 27405, USA.
| | - Sacoby M Wilson
- Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, School of Public Heath, University of Maryland, 255 Valley Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
| | - Siobhan T Whitlock
- Office of Environmental Justice and Sustainability, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.
| | - Robin Puett
- Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, School of Public Heath, University of Maryland, 255 Valley Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
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Martenies SE, Allshouse WB, Starling AP, Ringham BM, Glueck DH, Adgate JL, Dabelea D, Magzamen S. Combined environmental and social exposures during pregnancy and associations with neonatal size and body composition: the Healthy Start study. Environ Epidemiol 2019; 3:e043. [PMID: 31583369 PMCID: PMC6775643 DOI: 10.1097/ee9.0000000000000043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Accepted: 02/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prenatal environmental and social exposures have been associated with decreased birth weight. However, the effects of combined exposures in these domains are not fully understood. Here we assessed multi-domain exposures for participants in the Healthy Start study (Denver, CO) and tested associations with neonatal size and body composition. METHODS In separate linear regression models, we tested associations between neonatal outcomes and three indices for exposures. Two indices were developed to describe exposures to environmental hazards (ENV) and social determinants of health (SOC). A third index combined exposures in both domains (CE = ENV/10 × SOC/10). Index scores were assigned to mothers based on address at enrollment. Birth weight and length were measured at delivery, and weight-for-length z-scores were calculated using a reference distribution. Percent fat mass was obtained by air displacement plethysmography. RESULTS Complete data were available for 897 (64%) participants. Median (range) ENV, SOC, and CE values were 31.9 (7.1-63.2), 36.0 (2.8-75.0), and 10.9 (0.4-45.7), respectively. After adjusting for potential confounders, 10-point increases in SOC and CE were associated with 27.7 g (95%CI: 12.4 - 42.9 g) and 56.3 g (19.4 - 93.2 g) decreases in birth weight, respectively. SOC and CE were also associated with decreases in % fat mass. CONCLUSIONS Combined exposures during pregnancy were associated with lower birth weight and % fat mass. Evidence of a potential synergistic effect between ENV and SOC suggests a need to more fully consider neighborhood exposures when assessing neonatal outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheena E. Martenies
- Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | | | - Anne P. Starling
- Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
- Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Brandy M. Ringham
- Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Deborah H. Glueck
- Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
| | | | - Dana Dabelea
- Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
- Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Sheryl Magzamen
- Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
- Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
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Coker E, Liverani S, Su JG, Molitor J. Multi-pollutant Modeling Through Examination of Susceptible Subpopulations Using Profile Regression. Curr Environ Health Rep 2019; 5:59-69. [PMID: 29427169 DOI: 10.1007/s40572-018-0177-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW The inter-correlated nature of exposure-based risk factors in environmental health studies makes it a challenge to determine their combined effect on health outcomes. As such, there has been much research of late regarding the development and utilization of methods in the field of multi-pollutant modeling. However, much of this work has focused on issues related to variable selection in a regression context, with the goal of identifying which exposures are the "bad actors" most responsible for affecting the health outcome of interest. However, the question addressed by these approaches does not necessarily represent the only or most important questions of interest in a multi-pollutant modeling context, where researchers may be interested in health effects from co-exposure patterns and in identifying subpopulations associated with patterns defined by different levels of constituent exposures. RECENT FINDINGS One approach to analyzing multi-pollutant data is to use a method known as Bayesian profile regression, which aids in identifying susceptible subpopulations associated with exposure mixtures defined by different levels of each exposure. Identification of exposure-level patterns that correspond to a location may provide a starting point for policy-based exposure reduction. Also, in a spatial context, identification of locations with the most health-relevant exposure-mixture profiles might provide further policy relevant information. In this brief report, we review and describe an approach that can be used to identify exposures in subpopulations or locations known as Bayesian profile regression. An example is provided in which we examine associations between air pollutants, an indicator of healthy food retailer availability, and indicators of poverty in Los Angeles County. A general tread suggesting that vulnerable individuals are more highly exposed and have limited access to healthy food retailers is observed, though the associations are complex and non-linear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Coker
- School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Silvia Liverani
- School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS, UK
| | - Jason G Su
- Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720-7360, USA
| | - John Molitor
- School of Biological and Population Health Sciences, College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA.
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Grineski S, Morales DX, Collins T, Hernandez E, Fuentes A. The burden of carcinogenic air toxics among Asian Americans in four US metro areas. POPULATION AND ENVIRONMENT 2019; 40:257-282. [PMID: 31485094 PMCID: PMC6726401 DOI: 10.1007/s11111-018-0308-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
This study investigated disparities in residential exposure to carcinogenic air pollutants among Asian Americans, including Asian ancestry subgroups, in four US metro areas with high proportions of Asians, i.e., Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle. Generalized estimating equations adjusting for socioeconomic status, population density and clustering show that a greater proportion of Asian Americans in census tracts was associated with significantly greater health risk in all four metro areas. Intracategorical disparities were uncovered for Asian ancestry. A greater proportion Korean was positively associated with risk in four metro areas; greater proportion Chinese and Filipino were positively associated with risk in three of the four metro areas. While Asian Americans are infrequently examined in environmental justice research, these results demonstrate that Asian Americans experience substantial distributional environmental injustices in these four metro areas and that ancestry is an important dimension of intracategorical complexity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Grineski
- Department of Sociology, University of Utah, 480 S 1530 E; Salt Lake City, UT 84112; Tele: 801-581-6153 (work); ;
| | | | - Timothy Collins
- Department of Geography, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
| | - Estefania Hernandez
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX
| | - Ana Fuentes
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX
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Arthur KN, Spencer-Hwang R, Knutsen SF, Shavlik D, Soret S, Montgomery S. Are perceptions of community safety associated with respiratory illness among a low-income, minority adult population? BMC Public Health 2018; 18:1089. [PMID: 30176823 PMCID: PMC6122647 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-018-5933-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2018] [Accepted: 08/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Growing evidence suggests social disadvantage magnifies the harmful health effects of environmental hazards; however, there is limited research related to perceptions of risk among individuals who live near such environmental hazard sites. We explored the association between individual-level perception of community safety and respiratory illness among low-income, minority adults who live in a region with routine poor air quality exacerbated by the emissions of a nearby freight railyard. Methods Interview-administered household surveys were collected (87% response rate; n = 965) in English/Spanish from varying distances surrounding a freight railyard (analytic total n = 792: nearest region n = 215, middle n = 289, farthest n = 288). Illness outcome was an affirmative response to doctor-diagnosed asthma, bronchial condition, emphysema, COPD, or prescribed-inhaler usage. Respiratory symptoms outcome was an affirmative response to chronic cough, chronic mucus, or wheezing. The independent variable was perceived community safety. Results Outcome prevalences were similar across environmental hazard regions; 205 (25.9%) were diagnosed-illness cases and 166 (21.0%) diagnosis-free participants reported symptoms. Nearly half (47.5%) of participants reported lack of perceived community safety, which was associated with environmental hazard region (p < 0.0001). In multivariable log-binomial regression models adjusting for covariables (age, gender, race/ethnicity, smoking status, smoke exposure, residential duration, and distance from the railyard) respiratory illness diagnosis was associated with lack of perceived community safety (PR = 1.39; 95% CI 1.09, 1.76). Sensitivity analyses showed a non-significant but increasing trend in the strength of association between safety perceptions and illness diagnoses with closer proximity to the railyard. Conclusions Our findings contribute to the literature that individuals’ perceptions of community safety are associated with adverse respiratory health among a population living in high air pollution exposure areas. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-018-5933-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen N Arthur
- School of Public Health, Center for Community Resilience, Loma Linda University, 24951 N. Circle Drive, Nichol Hall, room 1401, Loma Linda, CA, 92350, USA.
| | - Rhonda Spencer-Hwang
- School of Public Health, Center for Community Resilience, Loma Linda University, 24951 N. Circle Drive, Nichol Hall, room 1401, Loma Linda, CA, 92350, USA
| | - Synnøve F Knutsen
- School of Public Health, Center for Nutrition, Health Lifestyle and Disease Prevention, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, USA
| | - David Shavlik
- School of Public Health, Center for Community Resilience, Loma Linda University, 24951 N. Circle Drive, Nichol Hall, room 1401, Loma Linda, CA, 92350, USA
| | - Samuel Soret
- School of Public Health, Center for Community Resilience, Loma Linda University, 24951 N. Circle Drive, Nichol Hall, room 1401, Loma Linda, CA, 92350, USA
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MacDonell MM, Hertzberg RC, Rice GE, Wright JM, Teuschler LK. Characterizing Risk for Cumulative Risk Assessments. RISK ANALYSIS : AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE SOCIETY FOR RISK ANALYSIS 2018; 38:1183-1201. [PMID: 29168988 PMCID: PMC8315329 DOI: 10.1111/risa.12933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2016] [Revised: 08/15/2017] [Accepted: 08/27/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
In assessing environmental health risks, the risk characterization step synthesizes information gathered in evaluating exposures to stressors together with dose-response relationships, characteristics of the exposed population, and external environmental conditions. This article summarizes key steps of a cumulative risk assessment (CRA) followed by a discussion of considerations for characterizing cumulative risks. Cumulative risk characterizations differ considerably from single chemical- or single source-based risk characterization. CRAs typically focus on a specific population instead of a pollutant or pollutant source and should include an evaluation of all relevant sources contributing to the exposures in the population and other factors that influence dose-response relationships. Second, CRAs may include influential environmental and population-specific conditions, involving multiple chemical and nonchemical stressors. Third, a CRA could examine multiple health effects, reflecting joint toxicity and the potential for toxicological interactions. Fourth, the complexities often necessitate simplifying methods, including judgment-based and semi-quantitative indices that collapse disparate data into numerical scores. Fifth, because of the higher dimensionality and potentially large number of interactions, information needed to quantify risk is typically incomplete, necessitating an uncertainty analysis. Three approaches that could be used for characterizing risks in a CRA are presented: the multiroute hazard index, stressor grouping by exposure and toxicity, and indices for screening multiple factors and conditions. Other key roles of the risk characterization in CRAs are also described, mainly the translational aspect of including a characterization summary for lay readers (in addition to the technical analysis), and placing the results in the context of the likely risk-based decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Richard C. Hertzberg
- Biomathematics Consulting and Department of Environmental Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Glenn E. Rice
- National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - J. Michael Wright
- National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency, Cincinnati, OH, USA
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Martenies SE, Milando CW, Batterman SA. Air pollutant strategies to reduce adverse health impacts and health inequalities: a quantitative assessment for Detroit, Michigan. AIR QUALITY, ATMOSPHERE, & HEALTH 2018; 11:409-422. [PMID: 30220936 PMCID: PMC6136662 DOI: 10.1007/s11869-017-0543-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2017] [Accepted: 12/27/2017] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
The development of air quality management (AQM) strategies provides opportunities to improve public health and reduce health inequalities. This study evaluates health and inequality impacts of alternate SO2 control strategies in Detroit, MI, a designated non-attainment area. Control alternatives include uniform reductions across sources, ranking approaches based on total emissions and health impacts per ton of pollutant emitted, and optimizations that meet concentration and health goals. Using dispersion modeling and quantitative health impact assessment (HIA), these strategies are evaluated in terms of ambient concentrations, health impacts, and the inequality in health risks. The health burden attributable to SO2 emissions in Detroit falls primarily among children and includes 70 hospitalizations and 6,000 asthma-related respiratory symptom-days annually, equivalent to 7 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The health burden disproportionately falls on Hispanic/Latino residents, residents with less than a high school diploma, and foreign-born residents. Control strategies that target smaller facilities near exposed populations provide the greatest benefit in terms of the overall health burden reductions and the inequality of attributable health risk; conventional strategies that target the largest emission sources can increase inequality and provide only modest health benefits. The assessment is novel in using spatial analyses that account for urban scale gradients in exposure, demographics, vulnerability, and population health. We show that quantitative HIA methods can be used to develop AQM strategies that simultaneously meet environmental, public health, and environmental justice goals, advancing AQM beyond its current compliance-oriented focus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheena E. Martenies
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Chad W. Milando
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Stuart A. Batterman
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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Liévanos RS. Retooling CalEnviroScreen: Cumulative Pollution Burden and Race-Based Environmental Health Vulnerabilities in California. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2018; 15:ijerph15040762. [PMID: 29659481 PMCID: PMC5923804 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph15040762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2018] [Revised: 04/07/2018] [Accepted: 04/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
The California Community Environmental Health Screening Tool (CalEnviroScreen) advances research and policy pertaining to environmental health vulnerability. However, CalEnviroScreen departs from its historical foundations and comparable screening tools by no longer considering racial status as an indicator of environmental health vulnerability and predictor of cumulative pollution burden. This study used conceptual frameworks and analytical techniques from environmental health and inequality literature to address the limitations of CalEnviroScreen, especially its inattention to race-based environmental health vulnerabilities. It developed an adjusted measure of cumulative pollution burden from the CalEnviroScreen 2.0 data that facilitates multivariate analyses of the effect of neighborhood racial composition on cumulative pollution burden, net of other indicators of population vulnerability, traffic density, industrial zoning, and local and regional clustering of pollution burden. Principal component analyses produced three new measures of population vulnerability, including Latina/o cumulative disadvantage that represents the spatial concentration of Latinas/os, economic disadvantage, limited English-speaking ability, and health vulnerability. Spatial error regression analyses demonstrated that concentrations of Latinas/os, followed by Latina/o cumulative disadvantage, are the strongest demographic determinants of adjusted cumulative pollution burden. Findings have implications for research and policy pertaining to cumulative impacts and race-based environmental health vulnerabilities within and beyond California.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raoul S Liévanos
- Department of Sociology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1291, USA.
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Liévanos RS. Retooling CalEnviroScreen: Cumulative Pollution Burden and Race-Based Environmental Health Vulnerabilities in California. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2018. [PMID: 29659481 DOI: 10.3390/ijerphl5040762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
The California Community Environmental Health Screening Tool (CalEnviroScreen) advances research and policy pertaining to environmental health vulnerability. However, CalEnviroScreen departs from its historical foundations and comparable screening tools by no longer considering racial status as an indicator of environmental health vulnerability and predictor of cumulative pollution burden. This study used conceptual frameworks and analytical techniques from environmental health and inequality literature to address the limitations of CalEnviroScreen, especially its inattention to race-based environmental health vulnerabilities. It developed an adjusted measure of cumulative pollution burden from the CalEnviroScreen 2.0 data that facilitates multivariate analyses of the effect of neighborhood racial composition on cumulative pollution burden, net of other indicators of population vulnerability, traffic density, industrial zoning, and local and regional clustering of pollution burden. Principal component analyses produced three new measures of population vulnerability, including Latina/o cumulative disadvantage that represents the spatial concentration of Latinas/os, economic disadvantage, limited English-speaking ability, and health vulnerability. Spatial error regression analyses demonstrated that concentrations of Latinas/os, followed by Latina/o cumulative disadvantage, are the strongest demographic determinants of adjusted cumulative pollution burden. Findings have implications for research and policy pertaining to cumulative impacts and race-based environmental health vulnerabilities within and beyond California.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raoul S Liévanos
- Department of Sociology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1291, USA.
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Rosofsky A, Levy JI, Zanobetti A, Janulewicz P, Fabian MP. Temporal trends in air pollution exposure inequality in Massachusetts. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2018; 161:76-86. [PMID: 29101831 PMCID: PMC5761067 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2017.10.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2017] [Revised: 10/13/2017] [Accepted: 10/17/2017] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Mounting evidence over the past several decades has demonstrated inequitable distribution of pollutants of ambient origin between sociodemographic groups in the United States. Most environmental inequality studies to date are cross-sectional and used proximity-based methods rather than modeled air pollution concentrations, limiting the ability to examine trends over time or the factors that drive exposure inequalities. In this paper, we use 1km2 modeled PM2.5 and NO2 concentrations in Massachusetts over an 8-year period and Census demographic data to quantify inequality between sociodemographic groups and to develop a more nuanced understanding of the drivers and trends in longitudinal air pollution inequality. Annual-average population-weighted PM2.5 and NO2 concentrations were highest for urban non-Hispanic black populations (11.8µg/m3 in 2003 and 8.4µg/m3 in 2010, vs. 11.3µg/m3 and 8.1µg/m3 for urban non-Hispanic whites) and urban Hispanic populations (15.9 ppb in 2005 and 13.0 ppb in 2010, vs. 13.0 ppb and 10.2 ppb for urban non-Hispanic whites), respectively. While population groups experienced similar absolute decreases in exposure over time, disparities in population-weighted concentrations increased over time when quantified by the Atkinson Index, a relative inequality measure. Exposure inequalities were approximately one order of magnitude greater for NO2 compared to PM2.5, were more pronounced in urban compared to rural geographies, and between racial/ethnic groups compared to income and educational attainment groups. Our results also revealed similar longitudinal PM2.5 and NO2 inequality trends using Census 2000 and Census 2010 data, indicating that spatio-temporal shifts in air pollution may best explain observed trends in inequality. These findings enhance our understanding of factors that contribute to persistent inequalities and underscore the importance of targeted exposure reduction strategies aimed at vulnerable populations and neighborhoods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Rosofsky
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Jonathan I Levy
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Antonella Zanobetti
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Patricia Janulewicz
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - M Patricia Fabian
- Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
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Air Pollution Inequality and Its Sources in SO2 and NOX Emissions among Chinese Provinces from 2006 to 2015. SUSTAINABILITY 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/su10020367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Martenies SE, Milando CW, Williams GO, Batterman SA. Disease and Health Inequalities Attributable to Air Pollutant Exposure in Detroit, Michigan. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2017; 14:ijerph14101243. [PMID: 29048385 PMCID: PMC5664744 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph14101243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2017] [Revised: 10/10/2017] [Accepted: 10/15/2017] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
The environmental burden of disease is the mortality and morbidity attributable to exposures of air pollution and other stressors. The inequality metrics used in cumulative impact and environmental justice studies can be incorporated into environmental burden studies to better understand the health disparities of ambient air pollutant exposures. This study examines the diseases and health disparities attributable to air pollutants for the Detroit urban area. We apportion this burden to various groups of emission sources and pollutants, and show how the burden is distributed among demographic and socioeconomic subgroups. The analysis uses spatially-resolved estimates of exposures, baseline health rates, age-stratified populations, and demographic characteristics that serve as proxies for increased vulnerability, e.g., race/ethnicity and income. Based on current levels, exposures to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are responsible for more than 10,000 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) per year, causing an annual monetized health impact of $6.5 billion. This burden is mainly driven by PM2.5 and O3 exposures, which cause 660 premature deaths each year among the 945,000 individuals in the study area. NO2 exposures, largely from traffic, are important for respiratory outcomes among older adults and children with asthma, e.g., 46% of air-pollution related asthma hospitalizations are due to NO2 exposures. Based on quantitative inequality metrics, the greatest inequality of health burdens results from industrial and traffic emissions. These metrics also show disproportionate burdens among Hispanic/Latino populations due to industrial emissions, and among low income populations due to traffic emissions. Attributable health burdens are a function of exposures, susceptibility and vulnerability (e.g., baseline incidence rates), and population density. Because of these dependencies, inequality metrics should be calculated using the attributable health burden when feasible to avoid potentially underestimating inequality. Quantitative health impact and inequality analyses can inform health and environmental justice evaluations, providing important information to decision makers for prioritizing strategies to address exposures at the local level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheena E Martenies
- Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
| | - Chad W Milando
- Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
| | - Guy O Williams
- Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, 4750 Woodward Ave., Suite 415, Detroit, MI 48201, USA.
| | - Stuart A Batterman
- Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
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Fox MA, Brewer LE, Martin L. An Overview of Literature Topics Related to Current Concepts, Methods, Tools, and Applications for Cumulative Risk Assessment (2007-2016). INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2017; 14:ijerph14040389. [PMID: 28387705 PMCID: PMC5409590 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph14040389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2016] [Revised: 03/10/2017] [Accepted: 03/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Cumulative risk assessments (CRAs) address combined risks from exposures to multiple chemical and nonchemical stressors and may focus on vulnerable communities or populations. Significant contributions have been made to the development of concepts, methods, and applications for CRA over the past decade. Work in both human health and ecological cumulative risk has advanced in two different contexts. The first context is the effects of chemical mixtures that share common modes of action, or that cause common adverse outcomes. In this context two primary models are used for predicting mixture effects, dose addition or response addition. The second context is evaluating the combined effects of chemical and nonchemical (e.g., radiation, biological, nutritional, economic, psychological, habitat alteration, land-use change, global climate change, and natural disasters) stressors. CRA can be adapted to address risk in many contexts, and this adaptability is reflected in the range in disciplinary perspectives in the published literature. This article presents the results of a literature search and discusses a range of selected work with the intention to give a broad overview of relevant topics and provide a starting point for researchers interested in CRA applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary A Fox
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
| | - L Elizabeth Brewer
- Office of the Science Advisor, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), Washington, DC 20004, USA.
| | - Lawrence Martin
- Office of the Science Advisor, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC 20004, USA.
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Schulz AJ, Mentz GB, Sampson N, Ward M, Anderson R, de Majo R, Israel BA, Lewis TC, Wilkins D. RACE AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF SOCIAL AND PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTAL RISK: A Case Example from the Detroit Metropolitan Area. DU BOIS REVIEW : SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH ON RACE 2016; 13:285-304. [PMID: 28951763 PMCID: PMC5610908 DOI: 10.1017/s1742058x16000163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Since W. E. B. Du Bois documented the physical and social environments of Philadelphia's predominantly African American Seventh Ward over a century ago, there has been continued interest in understanding the distribution of social and physical environments by racial make-up of communities. Characterization of these environments allows for documentation of inequities, identifies communities which encounter heightened risk, and can inform action to promote health equity. In this paper, we apply and extend Du Bois's approach to examine the contemporary distribution of physical environmental exposures, health risks, and social vulnerabilities in the Detroit metropolitan area, one of the most racially-segregated areas in the United States. We begin by mapping the proximity of sensitive populations to hazardous land uses, their exposure to air pollutants and associated health risks, and social vulnerabilities, as well as cumulative risk (combined proximity, exposure, and vulnerability), across Census tracts. Next, we assess, quantitatively, the extent to which communities of color experience excess burdens of environmental exposures and associated health risks, economic and age-related vulnerabilities, and cumulative risk. The results, depicted in maps presented in the paper, suggest that Census tracts with greater proportions of people of color disproportionately encounter physical environmental exposures, socioeconomic vulnerabilities, and combined risk. Quantitative tests of inequality confirm these distributions, with statistically greater exposures, vulnerabilities, and cumulative risk in Census tracts with larger proportions of people of color. Together, these findings identify communities that experience disproportionate cumulative risk in the Detroit metropolitan area and quantify the inequitable distribution of risk by Census tract relative to the proportion of people of color. They identify clear opportunities for prioritizing communities for legislative, regulatory, policy, and local actions to promote environmental justice and health equity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy J Schulz
- Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor
| | - Graciela B Mentz
- Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor
| | - Natalie Sampson
- Department of Health and Human Services, University of Michigan-Dearborn
| | - Melanie Ward
- Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor
| | | | - Ricardo de Majo
- Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor
| | - Barbara A Israel
- Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor
| | - Toby C Lewis
- Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases and Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
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Clark-Reyna SE, Grineski SE, Collins TW. Ambient Concentrations of Metabolic Disrupting Chemicals and Children's Academic Achievement in El Paso, Texas. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2016; 13:ijerph13090874. [PMID: 27598179 PMCID: PMC5036707 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph13090874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2016] [Revised: 08/17/2016] [Accepted: 08/24/2016] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Concerns about children’s weight have steadily risen alongside the manufacture and use of myriad chemicals in the US. One class of chemicals, known as metabolic disruptors, interfere with human endocrine and metabolic functioning and are of specific concern to children’s health and development. This article examines the effect of residential concentrations of metabolic disrupting chemicals on children’s school performance for the first time. Census tract-level ambient concentrations for known metabolic disruptors come from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s National Air Toxics Assessment. Other measures were drawn from a survey of primary caretakers of 4th and 5th grade children in El Paso Independent School District (El Paso, TX, USA). A mediation model is employed to examine two hypothetical pathways through which the ambient level of metabolic disruptors at a child’s home might affect grade point average. Results indicate that concentrations of metabolic disruptors are statistically significantly associated with lower grade point averages directly and indirectly through body mass index. Findings from this study have practical implications for environmental justice research and chemical policy reform in the US.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie E Clark-Reyna
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
| | - Sara E Grineski
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Avenue, El Paso, TX 79902, USA.
| | - Timothy W Collins
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Avenue, El Paso, TX 79902, USA.
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Su JG, Meng YY, Pickett M, Seto E, Ritz B, Jerrett M. Identification of Effects of Regulatory Actions on Air Quality in Goods Movement Corridors in California. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2016; 50:8687-96. [PMID: 27380254 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b00926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Few studies have assessed the impact of regulatory actions on air quality improvement through a comprehensive monitoring effort. In this study, we designed saturation sampling of nitrogen oxides (NOX) for the counties of Los Angeles and Alameda (San Francisco Bay) before (2003-2007) and after (2008-2013) implementation of goods movement actions in California. We further separated the research regions into three location categories, including goods movement corridors (GMCs), nongoods movement corridors (NGMCs), and control areas (CTRLs). Linear mixed models were developed to identify whether reductions in NOX were greater in GMCs than in other areas, after controlling for potential confounding, including weather conditions (e.g., wind speed and temperature) and season of sampling. We also considered factors that might confound the relationship, including traffic and cargo volumes that may have changed due to economic downturn impacts. Compared to the pre-policy period, we found reductions of average pollutant concentrations for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and NOX in GMCs of 6.4 and 21.7 ppb. The reductions were smaller in NGMCs (5.9 and 16.3 ppb, respectively) and in CTRLs (4.6 and 12.1 ppb, respectively). After controlling for potential confounding from weather conditions, season of sampling, and the economic downturn in 2008, the linear mixed models demonstrated that reductions in NO2 and NOX were significantly greater in GMCs compared to reductions observed in CTRLs; there were no statistically significant differences between NGMCs and CTRLs. These results indicate that policies regulating goods movement are achieving the desired outcome of improving air quality for the state, particularly in goods movement corridors where most disadvantaged communities live.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason G Su
- 50 University Hall, Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California-Berkeley , Berkeley, California 94720-7360, United States
| | - Ying-Ying Meng
- Center for Health Policy Research, University of California-Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095-7143, United States
| | - Melissa Pickett
- Center for Health Policy Research, University of California-Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095-7143, United States
| | - Edmund Seto
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington 98195-7234, United States
| | - Beate Ritz
- Fielding School of Public Health, University of California-Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095-1772, United States
| | - Michael Jerrett
- 50 University Hall, Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California-Berkeley , Berkeley, California 94720-7360, United States
- Fielding School of Public Health, University of California-Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095-1772, United States
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