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Journal Article Ppublish 25 citations

PubMed: 38445892 DOI: 10.1289/EHP11900

Increasing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Ambient Air Pollution-Attributable Morbidity and Mortality in the United States.

Environ Health Perspect 132(3):37002

Authors: Gaige Hunter Kerr, Aaron van Donkelaar, Randall V Martin, Michael Brauer, Katrin Bukart, Sarah Wozniak, Daniel L Goldberg, Susan C Anenberg

Affiliations

  • Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
  • Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
  • Department of Health Metrics Sciences, Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
  • School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Ambient nitrogen dioxide () and fine particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter () threaten public health in the US, and systemic racism has led to modern-day disparities in the distribution and associated health impacts of these pollutants.

OBJECTIVES

Many studies on environmental injustices related to ambient air pollution focus only on disparities in pollutant concentrations or provide only an assessment of pollution or health disparities at a snapshot in time. In this study, we compare injustices in and health burdens, considering health impacts across the entire US; document changing disparities in these health burdens over time (2010-2019); and evaluate how more stringent air quality standards would reduce disparities in health impacts associated with these pollutants.

METHODS

Through a health impact assessment, we quantified census tract-level variations in health outcomes attributable to and using health impact functions that combine demographic data from the US Census Bureau; two spatially resolved pollutant datasets, which fuse satellite data with physical and statistical models; and epidemiologically derived relative risk estimates and incidence rates from the Global Burden of Disease study.

RESULTS

Despite overall decreases in the public health damages associated with and , racial and ethnic relative disparities in pediatric asthma and premature mortality have widened in the US during the last decade. Racial relative disparities in premature mortality and pediatric asthma have increased by 16% and 19%, respectively, between 2010 and 2019. Similarly, ethnic relative disparities in premature mortality have increased by 40% and pediatric asthma by 10%.

DISCUSSION

Enacting and attaining more stringent air quality standards for both pollutants could preferentially benefit the most marginalized and minoritized communities by greatly reducing racial and ethnic relative disparities in pollution-attributable health burdens in the US. Our methods provide a semi-observational approach to track changes in disparities in air pollution and associated health burdens across the US. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11900.

MeSH

Environmental Pollutants, Air Pollution, Public Health, Environmental Pollution, Morbidity, Asthma, Environmental Health, Environment, Mortality, Premature

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