Racial/ethnic disparities in the association between fine particles and respiratory hospital admissions in San Diego county, CA.
J Environ Sci Health A Tox Hazard Subst Environ Eng
; 56(4): 473-480, 2021.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33678143
ABSTRACT
Ambient air pollution exposure is associated with exacerbating respiratory illnesses. Race/ethnicity (R/E) have been shown to influence an individual's vulnerability to environmental health risks such as fine particles (PM 2.5). This study aims to assess the R/E disparities in vulnerability to air pollution with regards to respiratory hospital admissions in San Diego County, California where most days fall below National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for daily PM 2.5 concentrations. Daily PM 2.5 levels were estimated at the zip code level using a spatial interpolation using inverse-distance weighting from monitor networks. The association between daily PM 2.5 levels and respiratory hospital admissions in San Diego County over a 15-year period from 1999 to 2013 was assessed with a time-series analysis using a multi-level Poisson regression model. Cochran Q tests were used to assess the effect modification of race/ethnicity on this association. Daily fine particle levels varied greatly from 1 µg/m3 to 75.86 µg/m3 (SD = 6.08 µg/m3) with the majority of days falling below 24-hour NAAQS for PM 2.5 of 35 µg/m3. For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM 2.5 levels, Black and White individuals had higher rates (8.6% and 6.2%, respectively) of hospitalization for respiratory admissions than observed in the county as a whole (4.1%). Increases in PM 2.5 levels drive an overall increase in respiratory hospital admissions with a disparate burden of health effects by R/E group. These findings suggest an opportunity to design interventions that address the unequal burden of air pollution among vulnerable communities in San Diego County that exist even below NAAQS for daily PM 2.5 concentrations.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Respiratory Tract Diseases
/
Inhalation Exposure
/
Air Pollutants
/
Health Status Disparities
/
Particulate Matter
Type of study:
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Aspects:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
/
Equity_inequality
/
Patient_preference
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
America do norte
Language:
En
Journal:
J Environ Sci Health A Tox Hazard Subst Environ Eng
Journal subject:
TOXICOLOGIA
Year:
2021
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States