Environmental injustice and asthma outcomes in children

Published: February 18, 2024

Environmental justice mandates that no person suffers disproportionately from environmental exposures. However, associations between pollutant exposure and social disadvantage have persisted since the 1970s.

In a recent issue of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, Fitzpatrick et al. utilized the Environmental Justice Index to identify census tracts with high environmental injustice and to examine asthma exacerbations, asthma control, and lung function over 12 months in children ages 6-18 years with asthma attending an academic specialty center in Atlanta, Georgia.

Census tracts with the greatest environmental injustice had more racial and ethnic minority residents, lower socioeconomic status, more hazardous exposures (particularly to airborne pollutants), and greater proximity to railroads and heavily trafficked roadways. Children with asthma residing in these high injustice census tracts also had features of more troublesome asthma at enrollment, with a longer duration of asthma, greater historical asthma-related healthcare utilization, poorer asthma symptom control and asthma-related quality of life, and more impaired lung function measures with greater airflow limitation. By 12 months, children from high injustice census tracts also had more asthma exacerbations (with a shorter time to exacerbation) and more symptoms, poorer asthma control, and more reduced lung function. These findings highlight persistent disparities in environmental justice in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, that require additional study and action to improve health equity.

The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice is an official journal of the AAAAI, focusing on practical information for the practicing clinician.

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