Air quality policy should quantify effects on disparities

Wang, Yuzhou; Apte, Joshua S.; Hill, Jason; Ivey, Cesunica E.; Johnson, Dana M.; Min, Esther; Morello‐Frosch, Rachel; Patterson, Regan F.; Robinson, Allen L.; Tessum, Christopher W.; Marshall, Julian

doi:10.1126/science.adg9931

Cited by 21 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, Mohai and Kweon suggest best practices for school-siting policies, based on a review of policies in seven states . Our results emphasize the importance of action, including reducing pollution in overburdened communities. , …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 63%

Ambient NO₂ Air Pollution and Public Schools in the United States: Relationships with Urbanicity, Race–Ethnicity, and Income

Bechle,

Millet,

Marshall

2023

Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Schools may have important impacts on children’s exposure to ambient air pollution, yet ambient air quality at schools is not consistently tracked. We characterize ambient air quality at home and school locations in the United States using satellite-based empirical model (i.e., land use regression) estimates of outdoor annual nitrogen dioxide (NO2). We report disparities by race–ethnicity and impoverishment status, and investigate differences by level of urbanicity. Average NO2 levels at home and school for racial–ethnic minoritized students are 18–22% higher than average (and 37–39% higher than for non-Hispanic, white students). Minoritized students are less likely than their white peers to live (0.55 times) and attend school (0.58 times) in areas below the World Health Organization’s NO2 guideline. Predominantly minoritized schools (i.e., >50% minoritized students) are less likely than predominantly white schools (0.43 times) to be in locations below the guideline. Income and race–ethnicity impacts are intertwined, yet in large cities, racial disparities persist after controlling for income.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 63%

Ambient NO₂ Air Pollution and Public Schools in the United States: Relationships with Urbanicity, Race–Ethnicity, and Income

Bechle,

Millet,

Marshall

2023

Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Within the United States, it has been shown that census tracts with lower socioeconomic status are exposed to higher PM 2.5 concentrations, and that increased PM 2.5 is associated with increased age-specific mortality. 98 The adverse effects of air pollution related to health are not homogeneously distributed, and individuals residing within lower socioeconomic status areas face greater burdens of CMD as a consequence of increased exposure to air pollution. 5 Moreover, green space initiatives involving investments in parks and greenways may unintentionally result in "green gentrification, " defined as the influx of wealthier individuals to lower income neighborhoods in which green space initiatives are being implemented.…”

Section: Socioeconomic Disparities In Urban Provisioning Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Urban Environment and Cardiometabolic Health

Rajagopalan,

Vergara-Martel,

Zhong

et al. 2024

Circulation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Urban environments contribute substantially to the rising burden of cardiometabolic diseases worldwide. Cities are complex adaptive systems that continually exchange resources, shaping exposures relevant to human health such as air pollution, noise, and chemical exposures. In addition, urban infrastructure and provisioning systems influence multiple domains of health risk, including behaviors, psychological stress, pollution, and nutrition through various pathways (eg, physical inactivity, air pollution, noise, heat stress, food systems, the availability of green space, and contaminant exposures). Beyond cardiometabolic health, city design may also affect climate change through energy and material consumption that share many of the same drivers with cardiometabolic diseases. Integrated spatial planning focusing on developing sustainable compact cities could simultaneously create heart-healthy and environmentally healthy city designs. This article reviews current evidence on the associations between the urban exposome (totality of exposures a person experiences, including environmental, occupational, lifestyle, social, and psychological factors) and cardiometabolic diseases within a systems science framework, and examines urban planning principles (eg, connectivity, density, diversity of land use, destination accessibility, and distance to transit). We highlight critical knowledge gaps regarding built-environment feature thresholds for optimizing cardiometabolic health outcomes. Last, we discuss emerging models and metrics to align urban development with the dual goals of mitigating cardiometabolic diseases while reducing climate change through cross-sector collaboration, governance, and community engagement. This review demonstrates that cities represent crucial settings for implementing policies and interventions to simultaneously tackle the global epidemics of cardiovascular disease and climate change.

show abstract

“…60,63,64 There are 2 hypotheses driving these disparities, either that the populations themselves are more susceptible due to chronic disadvantage or they have higher risks because of increased exposures. 65,66 Also, often, it is difficult to disentangle the effects of minority status from differences in SES.…”

Section: Race/ethnicity/nativitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[72][73][74][75] Conversely, the pollution reduction benefits are also likely to be unevenly distributed within a population and require additional knowledge on which subgroups may derive preferential benefit. 65…”

Section: Race/ethnicity/nativitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health Effects of Air Pollution in the Context of Cumulative Exposomic Impacts

Khraishah,

Chen,

Rajagopalan

2024

Circulation Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Poor air quality accounts for more than 9 million deaths a year globally according to recent estimates. A large portion of these deaths are attributable to cardiovascular causes, with evidence indicating that air pollution may also play an important role in the genesis of key cardiometabolic risk factors. Air pollution is not experienced in isolation but is part of a complex system, influenced by a host of other external environmental exposures, and interacting with intrinsic biologic factors and susceptibility to ultimately determine cardiovascular and metabolic outcomes. Given that the same fossil fuel emission sources that cause climate change also result in air pollution, there is a need for robust approaches that can not only limit climate change but also eliminate air pollution health effects, with an emphasis of protecting the most susceptible but also targeting interventions at the most vulnerable populations. In this review, we summarize the current state of epidemiologic and mechanistic evidence underpinning the association of air pollution with cardiometabolic disease and how complex interactions with other exposures and individual characteristics may modify these associations. We identify gaps in the current literature and suggest emerging approaches for policy makers to holistically approach cardiometabolic health risk and impact assessment.

show abstract

Air quality policy should quantify effects on disparities

Abstract: New tools can guide US policies to better target and reduce racial and socioeconomic disparities in air pollution exposure

Cited by 21 publications

References 13 publications

Ambient NO₂ Air Pollution and Public Schools in the United States: Relationships with Urbanicity, Race–Ethnicity, and Income

Ambient NO₂ Air Pollution and Public Schools in the United States: Relationships with Urbanicity, Race–Ethnicity, and Income

The Urban Environment and Cardiometabolic Health

Understanding the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health Effects of Air Pollution in the Context of Cumulative Exposomic Impacts

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Air quality policy should quantify effects on disparities

Abstract: New tools can guide US policies to better target and reduce racial and socioeconomic disparities in air pollution exposure

Cited by 21 publications

References 13 publications

Ambient NO2 Air Pollution and Public Schools in the United States: Relationships with Urbanicity, Race–Ethnicity, and Income

Ambient NO2 Air Pollution and Public Schools in the United States: Relationships with Urbanicity, Race–Ethnicity, and Income

The Urban Environment and Cardiometabolic Health

Understanding the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health Effects of Air Pollution in the Context of Cumulative Exposomic Impacts

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Ambient NO₂ Air Pollution and Public Schools in the United States: Relationships with Urbanicity, Race–Ethnicity, and Income

Ambient NO₂ Air Pollution and Public Schools in the United States: Relationships with Urbanicity, Race–Ethnicity, and Income