Home and school pollutant exposure, respiratory outcomes, and influence of historical redlining
Recommended Citation
Jung KH, Argenio KL, Jackson DJ, Miller RL, Perzanowski MS, Rundle AG, Bacharier LB, Busse WW, Cohen RT, Visness CM, Gill MA, Gruchalla RS, Hershey GK, Kado RK, Sherenian MG, Liu AH, Makhija MM, Pillai DK, Rivera-Spoljaric K, Gergen PJ, Altman MC, Sandel MT, Sorkness CA, Kattan M, and Lovinsky-Desir S. Home and School Pollutant Exposure, Respiratory Outcomes, and Influence of Historical Redlining. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2024.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-9-2024
Publication Title
The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The discriminatory and racist policy of historical redlining in the United States (U.S.) during the 1930s played a role in perpetuating contemporary environmental health disparities.
OBJECTIVE: Our objectives were to determine associations between home and school pollutant exposure (fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)), nitrogen dioxide (NO(2))) and respiratory outcomes (Composite Asthma Severity Index (CASI), lung function) among school-aged children with asthma and examine whether associations differed between children who resided and/or attended school in historically redlined compared to non-redlined neighborhoods.
METHODS: Children ages 6 to 17 with moderate-to-severe asthma (N=240) from 9 U.S. cities were included. Combined home and school exposure to PM(2.5) and NO(2) was calculated based on geospatially assessed monthly averaged outdoor pollutant concentrations. Repeated measures of CASI and lung function were collected.
RESULTS: Overall, 37.5% of children resided and/or attended schools in historically redlined neighborhoods. Children in historically redlined neighborhoods had greater exposure to NO(2) (median: 15.4 vs 12.1 ppb) and closer distance to a highway (median: 0.86 vs 1.23 km), compared to those in non-redlined neighborhoods (p<0.01). Overall, PM(2.5) was not associated with asthma severity or lung function. However, among children in redlined neighborhoods, higher PM(2.5) was associated with worse asthma severity (p<0.005). No association was observed between pollutants and lung function or asthma severity among children in non-redlined neighborhoods (p>0.005).
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight the significance of historical redlining and current environmental health disparities among school-aged children with asthma, specifically, the environmental injustice of PM(2.5) exposure and its associations with respiratory health.
PubMed ID
38992473
ePublication
ePub ahead of print
