Health Status and Residential Exposure to Air Toxics

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of children’s subjective health status and exposure to residential environmental toxins on academic performance for the first time, while adjusting for school-level effects using generalized estimating equations. The analysis employs National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) risk estimates and individual-level data collected through a mail survey. Results indicate that poorer subjective health status and higher levels of residential air toxins are statistically significantly associated with lower grade point averages, meaning that there is an independent effect of air pollution on children’s academic achievement that cannot be explained poor caretaker-rated health alone.

The Combined Influence of Air Pollution and Home Learning Environment on Early Cognitive Skills in Children

“…There is also a growing literature on the effect of environmental factors, such as exposure to air pollutants, on neurodevelopment in children [ 9 ]. Studies have found associations between ambient levels of air toxics and lower grade point averages in elementary school [ 10 ]. There are also studies which observe associations between exposure to air pollutants prenatally and behaviors or symptoms later in childhood that are suggestive of problems with academic success.…”

Lifetime Exposure to Air Pollution and Academic Achievement: A Nationwide Cohort Study in Denmark

“…Knowledge of negative impacts on academic achievement can be a strong argument for preventive measures reducing children's exposure to air pollution, as a way of improving children's neurocognitive development. Several previous studies suggested that exposure to air pollution may influence academic achievement, although the majority of these studies have been conducted in either an ecological or cross-sectional study design (Berman et al, 2018;Claesen et al, 2021;Clark-Reyna et al, 2016;Gaffron and Niemeier, 2015;Gardin and Requia, 2023;Grineski et al, 2016;Lu et al, 2021). Whereas five of seven studies suggested adverse effects of air pollution on academic achievement (Clark-Reyna et al, 2016;Gaffron and Niemeier, 2015;Gardin and Requia, 2023;Grineski et al, 2016;Lu et al, 2021), the evidence is limited due to the study designs, which do not allow for making causal inferences about these associations.…”

“…Several previous studies suggested that exposure to air pollution may influence academic achievement, although the majority of these studies have been conducted in either an ecological or cross-sectional study design (Berman et al, 2018;Claesen et al, 2021;Clark-Reyna et al, 2016;Gaffron and Niemeier, 2015;Gardin and Requia, 2023;Grineski et al, 2016;Lu et al, 2021). Whereas five of seven studies suggested adverse effects of air pollution on academic achievement (Clark-Reyna et al, 2016;Gaffron and Niemeier, 2015;Gardin and Requia, 2023;Grineski et al, 2016;Lu et al, 2021), the evidence is limited due to the study designs, which do not allow for making causal inferences about these associations. Furthermore, the few longitudinal studies examining the relationship between air pollution and academic achievement employed either a low-resolution or areaaggregated exposure assessment of air pollution (Balalian et al, 2022;Grineski et al, 2020;Marcotte, 2017;Shier et al, 2019;Stingone et al, 2016).…”

Lifetime Exposure to Air Pollution and Academic Achievement: A Nationwide Cohort Study in Denmark

“…Knowledge of negative impacts on academic achievement can be a strong argument for preventive measures reducing children's exposure to air pollution, as a way of improving children's neurocognitive development. Several previous studies suggested that exposure to air pollution may influence academic achievement, although the majority of these studies have been conducted in either an ecological or cross-sectional study design (Berman et al, 2018;Claesen et al, 2021;Clark-Reyna et al, 2016;Gaffron and Niemeier, 2015;Gardin and Requia, 2023;Grineski et al, 2016;Lu et al, 2021). Whereas five of seven studies suggested adverse effects of air pollution on academic achievement (Clark-Reyna et al, 2016;Gaffron and Niemeier, 2015;Gardin and Requia, 2023;Grineski et al, 2016;Lu et al, 2021), the evidence is limited due to the study designs, which do not allow for making causal inferences about these associations.…”

“…Several previous studies suggested that exposure to air pollution may influence academic achievement, although the majority of these studies have been conducted in either an ecological or cross-sectional study design (Berman et al, 2018;Claesen et al, 2021;Clark-Reyna et al, 2016;Gaffron and Niemeier, 2015;Gardin and Requia, 2023;Grineski et al, 2016;Lu et al, 2021). Whereas five of seven studies suggested adverse effects of air pollution on academic achievement (Clark-Reyna et al, 2016;Gaffron and Niemeier, 2015;Gardin and Requia, 2023;Grineski et al, 2016;Lu et al, 2021), the evidence is limited due to the study designs, which do not allow for making causal inferences about these associations. Furthermore, the few longitudinal studies examining the relationship between air pollution and academic achievement employed either a low-resolution or areaaggregated exposure assessment of air pollution (Balalian et al, 2022;Grineski et al, 2020;Marcotte, 2017;Shier et al, 2019;Stingone et al, 2016).…”