Social Determinants of Health in Environmental Justice Communities: Examining Cumulative Risk in Terms of Environmental Exposures and Social Determinants of Health

Abstract

Residents of environmental justice (EJ) communities may bear a disproportionate burden of environmental health risk, and often face additional burdens from social determinants of health. Accounting for cumulative risk should include measures of risk from both environmental sources and social determinants. This study sought to better understand cumulative health risk from both social and environmental sources in a disadvantaged community in Texas. Key outcomes were determining what data are currently available for this assessment, clarifying data needs, identifying data gaps, and considering how those gaps could be filled. Analyses suggested that the traditionally defined EJ community in Port Arthur may have a lower environmental risk from air toxics than the rest of the City of Port Arthur (although the entire city has a higher risk than the average for the state), but may have a larger burden from social determinants of health. However, the results should be interpreted in light of the availability of data, the definitions of community boundaries, and the areal unit utilized. Continued focus on environmental justice communities and the cumulative risks faced by their residents is critical to protecting these residents and, ultimately, moving towards a more equitable distribution and acceptable level of risk throughout society.

Disease and Health Inequalities Attributable to Air Pollutant Exposure in Detroit, Michigan

“…Inequality metrics for health risks are driven, in addition to exposures, by the variability in baseline health risks, demographic variables, income, and other characteristics that influence vulnerability or susceptibility. This differs from many or possibly most earlier EJ and cumulative impact analyses that have relied on exposure indicators for a showing of disproportionate impacts, e.g., using ambient monitoring and dispersion modeling (e.g., [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 ]), and surrogates such as proximity to traffic or point sources [ 77 , 78 ]. In addition, data from national datasets like the National Air Toxics Assessment [ 79 ] and air quality monitoring networks may not have the needed spatial resolution for local scale analyses of industry and traffic pollutants [ 10 , 11 ].…”

Early life characteristics and late life burden of cerebral small vessel disease in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

“…While statistical adjustment for conventional vascular risk factors partially accounts for the effects of general health on brain health, there are other known and unknown variables that may further account for this association. Multiple studies have reported epigenetic associations for multiple socioeconomic factors, [ 50 - 52 ], poorer quality diet, aspects of environment that influence opportunities for and appeal of physical activity [ 53 ] and exposure to pollution and other toxins [ 54 ]. Socioeconomic status and childhood intelligence may also contribute to lifestyle choices impacting brain vascular health [ 55 ] – intelligence and greater educational attainment were associated with health-promoting behaviours [ 56 ] and earlier adoption of health-related recommendations [ 57 ] - and exposure or tolerance to allostatic load [ 58 ].…”

The development of a participatory assessment technique for infrastructure: Neighborhood-level monitoring towards sustainable infrastructure systems

“…Such urban neighborhoods typically have relatively high burdens of environmental deterioration that includes water and other infrastructure systems, public problems such as crime and physical blight, poor public education systems, and a limited tax base. A continued focus on environmental justice communities and the cumulative risks faced by their residents is critical to protecting these residents and, ultimately, move towards a more equitable distribution and acceptable level of risk throughout society (Prochaska et al, 2014). …”