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Abstract
School quality as a community-level asset buffering associations between air pollution and pediatric health
Environmental health perspectives. Supplements, v 2024(1)
15 Aug 2024
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIM[|]Though children spend a large amount of time at school, school quality is often overlooked in environmental epidemiology. Here, we explore associations between residential fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure and pediatric emergency department (ED) visits in New York (NY), and effect modification by school quality indicators. We hypothesize that high-quality school environment can buffer pollution-related harms.[¤]METHOD[|]We used conditional logistic regression in a time-stratified, case-crossover design to estimate associations between 3-day moving average residential block-group PM2.5 estimates from ensemble models and risk of ED visit for all cause and diagnostic subcategories, adjusting for temperature. ED visits for school-age (age 5-17) children were obtained for years 2005-2019 using NY administrative health data. We assessed effect modification by school metrics, socioeconomic indicators, and urbanicity. School quality metrics encompassed three axes: physical, educational, and social.[¤]RESULTS[|]PM2.5 exposure was associated with ED visits for any cause, and for each diagnostic subcategory, with modest effect sizes (e.g., 2.5% excess risk of ED visit for respiratory outcomes per 5-µg/m³ increase in PM2.5 [95% CI: 2.3, 2.7], adjusted for Tmin). School quality metrics appear to modify this association, with reduced effects in some areas with higher-quality schools, even after accounting for neighborhood-level socioeconomic status. For example, tracts with the highest proportion 3rd graders scoring proficient on standardized math tests demonstrated smaller effects (2.3% excess risk, 95% CI: 2.0, 2.6) than those with the lowest proportion (3.1% excess risk, 95% CI: 2.9, 3.3). Patterns largely held across strata of neighborhood socioeconomic status, and stronger gradients were observed in rural areas, compared to urban areas.[¤]CONCLUSIONS[|]Results suggest that school quality, though related to area-level socioeconomic status, may stand as a separate indicator of neighborhood investment in pediatric health, and that better school quality may buffer the harmful effects of air pollution on pediatric health.[¤]
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Details
- Title
- School quality as a community-level asset buffering associations between air pollution and pediatric health
- Creators
- Lisa Frueh - Drexel University, Environmental and Occupational HealthRachit Sharma - Drexel University, Environmental and Occupational HealthEllen E. Kinnee - University of PittsburghAllan C. Just - Brown UniversityPerry E. Sheffield - Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiJane E. Clougherty - Drexel University, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Publication Details
- Environmental health perspectives. Supplements, v 2024(1)
- Conference
- ISEE 2024: 36th Annual Conference of the International Society of Environmental Epidemiology, 36th (Santiago, Chile, 25 Aug 2024–28 Aug 2024)
- Resource Type
- Abstract
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Environmental and Occupational Health
- Other Identifier
- 991021895760504721