Do Individual and Neighborhood Characteristics Influence Perceived Air Quality?

Abstract

Abstract:Background: Despite improvements, air pollution still remains a major public health issue. Numerous epidemiological studies have demonstrated the adverse health effects of air pollution exposure based on modeled measures, but only a few have considered the health impact of perceived air quality. Improving our knowledge of individual perceptions is crucial to defining targeted actions and promoting appropriate intervention measures. Our objective is to investigate the relationship between subjective and objective measures of air pollution and to focus on how individual characteristics combined with the neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation index, measured at a fine spatial scale, may or may not alter this relationship. Materials and Methods: The subjective measures of air quality reported by a sample of Lyon residents were collected via an individual questionnaire. The objective measures of air pollution were modeled by the local air quality monitoring network of the Rhône-Alpes region at census block level. We used a socioeconomic deprivation index to capture the different socioeconomic dimensions at census block level. The statistical analysis was structured in two steps: (1) identification of individual determinants of the subjective measures of air quality using multiple correspondence analysis followed by hierarchical clustering; (2) identification of individual and contextual characteristics that may alter the relationship between the objective and subjective measures of air pollution. Results: Among the youngest and the middle aged population (ages 30 to 59), consistent results between level of satisfaction, perceived air quality and objective measures of air pollution were found whatever the individual characteristics of the population. It is less clear among the oldest population: globally no significant difference between the NO 2 concentrations and the level of satisfaction was observed. Conclusions: We found a significant relationship between the subjective and objective measures of air pollution in many population sub-groups with different combinations of individual characteristics. The relationship is less clear among the oldest population, which confirms previous findings. Our finding highlights that age combined with low level of education and unemployment, or women or health problems as well as the neighborhood deprivation index influence the level of air quality satisfaction.

The association between individual perceptions of PM2.5 pollution and pulmonary function in Chinese middle-aged and elderly residents

“…Given that a proper understanding of individual perceptions of air pollution is critical for policymaking and risk communication, many studies have been conducted to explore the public's perception of air pollution in recent years. Previous studies have reported that a lower level of education and income might be associated with more dissatisfaction with respect to air pollution [20,21]. Qian and Kim et al found that women and younger people are more sensitive to air pollution risks [17,22].…”

Associations between individual perceptions of PM2.5 pollution and pulmonary function in Chinese middle-aged and elderly residents

“…Given that a proper understanding of individual perceptions of air pollution is critical for policymaking and risk communication, many studies have been conducted to explore the public's perception of air pollution in recent years [20][21][22][23][24][25]. Previous studies have reported that a lower level of education and income might be associated with more dissatisfaction with respect to air pollution [20,21]. Qian and Kim et al found that women and younger people are more sensitive to air pollution risks [17,22].…”

Air-Pollution Control in an Emergent Market: Does It Work? Evidence from Romania

“…Thus, a global need for environmental-protection regulations is recognized. In this regard, international organizations have developed standards regarding economic development that does not significantly affect the environment [9,10].…”

“…It was found that a competent authority is the one that can stimulate companies to comply with environmental norms. However, due to specific problems to emerging economies, alignment with imposed international norms tends to be delayed, thus affecting the environment and implicitly the health of the population [5,10,27].…”