Social Disparities in Children’s Respiratory Health in El Paso, Texas

Collins

2016

Environmental Research

The problem of environmental health hazards around schools is serious but it has been neglected by researchers and analysts. This is concerning because children are highly susceptible to the effects of chemical hazards. Some ecological studies have demonstrated that higher school-level pollution is associated with lower aggregate school-level standardized test scores at school, likely related to increased respiratory illnesses and/or impaired cognitive development. However, an important question remains unexamined: How do school-level exposures impact individual children’s academic performance? To address this, we obtained socio-demographic and grades data from the parents of 1,888 fourth and fifth grade children in the El Paso (Texas, USA) Independent School District in 2012. El Paso is located on the US-side of the Mexican border and has a majority Mexican-origin population. School-based hazardous air pollution (HAP) exposure was calculated using census block-level US Environmental Protection Agency National Air Toxics Assessment risk estimates for respiratory and diesel particulate matter (PM). School-level demographics were obtained from the school district. Multi-level models adjusting for individual-level covariates (e.g., age, sex, race/ethnicity, English proficiency, and economic deprivation) and school-level covariates (e.g., percent of students economically disadvantaged and student-teacher ratio) showed that higher school-level HAPs were associated with lower individual-level grade point averages. An interquartile range increase in school-level HAP exposure was associated with an adjusted 0.11 to 0.40 point decrease in individual students’ grade point averages (GPAs), depending on HAP type and emission source. Respiratory risk from HAPs had a larger effect on GPA than did diesel PM risk. Non-road mobile and total respiratory risk had the largest effects on children’s GPA of all HAP variables studied and only mother’s level of education had a larger effect than those two variables on children’s GPA. The five school-level demographic indicators were only weakly associated with GPA. The study findings indicate the need for regulations on school siting and adjacent land uses to protect children’s environmental health.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

School-based exposure to hazardous air pollutants and grade point average: A multi-level study

Grineski

Collins

2016

Environmental Research

“…Data on socio-demographics, BMI, and academic achievement were collected through a cross-sectional mail survey that was sent to all caretakers of fourth and fifth graders in the El Paso Independent School District in 2012 [ 46 ]. The El Paso Independent School District (EPISD) is the tenth largest district in Texas and in 2012, there were over 64,000 students (K-12) enrolled in 94 campuses.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ambient Concentrations of Metabolic Disrupting Chemicals and Children’s Academic Achievement in El Paso, Texas

Grineski

Collins

2016

IJERPH

Self Cite

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.

“…15 EPISD is the 10 th largest district in Texas and in 2012, there were over 64,000 students enrolled in the district across 94 campuses.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Status and Residential Exposure to Air Toxics

Family &Amp; Community Health

Grineski²,

Collins³

2016

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.