Effects of Prolonged Exposure to Air Pollution and Neighborhood Disadvantage on Self-Rated Health among Adults in the United States: Evidence from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics

Abstract

Background: 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.

Objectives: We examined the nexus of air pollution exposure, neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage, and self-rated health (SRH) among adults in the United States.

Methods: 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 $\le 2.5\mu m$ in aerodynamic diameter (${\mathrm{PM}}_{2.5}$)] 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.

Results: 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 ${\mathrm{PM}}_{2.5}$ concentrations or socioeconomic disadvantage rated their health more negatively after controlling for covariates [$\beta =-0.024$ (95% CI: $-0.034$, $-0.014$); $\beta =-0.107$ (95% CI: $-0.163$, $-0.052$), respectively]. We also found that the deleterious associations of ${\mathrm{PM}}_{2.5}$ exposure with SRH were weaker in the context of greater neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage ($\beta =0.007$; 95% CI: 0.002, 0.011).

Discussion: 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.