Department of Sociology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California, USA.
Environ Health Perspect. 2023 Aug;131(8):87001. doi: 10.1289/EHP11268. Epub 2023 Aug 2.
Although overall air quality has improved in the United States, air pollution remains unevenly distributed across neighborhoods, producing disproportionate environmental burdens for minoritized and socioeconomically disadvantaged residents for whom greater exposure to other structurally rooted neighborhood stressors is also more frequent. These interrelated dynamics and layered vulnerabilities each have well-documented associations with physical and psychological health outcomes; however, much remains unknown about the joint effects of environmental hazards and neighborhood socioeconomic factors on self-reported health status.
We examined the nexus of air pollution exposure, neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage, and self-rated health (SRH) among adults in the United States.
This observational study used individual-level data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics merged with contextual information, including neighborhood socioeconomic and air pollution data at the census tract and census block levels, spanning the period of 1999-2015. We estimated ordinary least squares regression models predicting SRH by 10-y average exposures to fine particulate matter [particles in aerodynamic diameter ()] and neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage while controlling for individual-level correlates of health. We also investigated the interaction effects of air pollution and neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage on SRH.
On average, respondents in our sample rated their health as 3.41 on a scale of 1 to 5. Respondents in neighborhoods with higher 10-y average concentrations or socioeconomic disadvantage rated their health more negatively after controlling for covariates [ (95% CI: , ); (95% CI: , ), respectively]. We also found that the deleterious associations of exposure with SRH were weaker in the context of greater neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage (; 95% CI: 0.002, 0.011).
Study results indicate that the effects of air pollution on SRH may be less salient in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods compared with more advantaged areas, perhaps owing to the presence of other more proximate structurally rooted health risks and vulnerabilities in disinvested areas (e.g., lack of economic resources, health access, healthy food options). This intersection may further underscore the importance of meaningful involvement and political power building among community stakeholders on issues concerning the nexus of environmental and socioeconomic justice, particularly in structurally marginalized communities. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11268.
尽管美国的整体空气质量有所改善，但空气污染在社区之间的分布仍不均匀，少数族裔和社会经济处于不利地位的居民承受着不成比例的环境负担，他们接触其他结构性根源的邻里压力源的频率也更高。这些相互关联的动态和分层的脆弱性都与身心健康结果有很好的记录关联；然而，对于环境危害和邻里社会经济因素对自我报告的健康状况的联合影响，我们仍知之甚少。
我们研究了美国成年人暴露于空气污染、邻里社会经济劣势与自我报告的健康状况（SRH）之间的关系。
本观察性研究使用了来自收入动态面板研究的个人层面数据，并与上下文信息相结合，包括在普查区和普查块层面的邻里社会经济和空气污染数据，时间跨度为 1999 年至 2015 年。我们通过 10 年平均暴露于细颗粒物（）和邻里社会经济劣势来估计普通最小二乘回归模型，以预测 SRH，同时控制健康的个体相关因素。我们还研究了空气污染和邻里社会经济劣势对 SRH 的交互作用。
在我们的样本中，受访者的平均健康评分为 1 到 5 分制的 3.41 分。在控制了协变量后，处于 10 年平均浓度较高或社会经济劣势较大的社区的受访者对自己的健康评价更差[（95%置信区间：，）；（95%置信区间：，）]。我们还发现，在社会经济劣势较大的环境中，暴露于的负面健康关联较弱（；95%置信区间：0.002，0.011）。
研究结果表明，与较富裕地区相比，空气污染对 SRH 的影响在社会经济处于劣势的社区中可能不那么明显，这可能是由于在投资不足的地区存在其他更接近的结构性根源健康风险和脆弱性（例如，缺乏经济资源、健康获取、健康食品选择）。这种交叉可能进一步强调了社区利益相关者在涉及环境和社会经济正义的问题上进行有意义的参与和政治权力建设的重要性，特别是在结构上处于边缘地位的社区。https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11268.
