Does Long-Term Air Pollution Exposure Affect Self-Reported Health and Limiting Long Term Illness Disproportionately for Ethnic Minorities in the UK? A Census-Based Individual Level Analysis

Abstract

Previous studies have investigated the impact of air pollution on health and mortality. However, there is little research on how this impact varies by individuals’ ethnicity. Using a sample of more than 2.5-million individuals aged 16 and older from the 2011 UK census linked to 10-years air pollution data, this article investigates the effect of air pollution on self-reported general health and limiting long-term illness (LLTI) in five main ethnic groups and by country of birth in UK. The association of air pollution with self-reported health and LLTI by individual’s ethnicity was examined using two levels mixed-effects generalised-linear models. Pakistani/Bangladeshi, Indian, Black/African/Caribbean, and other ethnic minorities and people born outside UK/Ireland were more likely to report poorer health and the presence of LLTI than White-group and UK/Ireland born individuals. Higher concentrations of NO2, SO2 and CO pollutants were associated with poorer self-reported health and the presence of LLTI in the UK population. Analysis by ethnicity showed a more pronounced effect of NO2, PM10, PM2.5, and CO air pollution on poor self-reported health and the presence of LLTI among ethnic minorities, mostly for people from Black/African/Caribbean origin compared to White people, and among non-UK/Ireland born individuals compared to natives. Using a large-scale individual-level census data linked to air pollution spatial data, our study supports the long-term deteriorating effect of air pollution on self-reported health and LLTI, which is more pronounced for ethnic minorities and non-natives.

The association of long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution with all-cause GP visits and hospital admissions by ethnicity and country of birth in the United Kingdom

“…This is because these pollutants have been shown by relevant literature to be related to poor health outcomes. We did not study ozone because this is a seasonal pollutant that interacts with other pollutants in the atmosphere, mostly during the summer [ 2 , 30 , 39 ]. Thus, annual pollution data is not suitable to study the health effects of ozone.…”

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

“… 15 – 17 There is also mounting evidence of an association between air pollution exposure and increased mental health stress, psychiatric disorders, and cognitive decline. 18 , 19 Air pollution exposure is thus increasingly recognized as a key contributor to the global burden of morbidity, including reduced quality of life and altered health perceptions and well-being, 20 , 21 and has a potentially significant role in premature mortality. 8 , 22 , 23 …”

“…The health impacts of medium- and longer-term exposure to air pollution may be modified by multiple social, cognitive, and environmental factors 21 and particularly by other interrelated stressors linked to concentrated socioeconomic disadvantage in neighborhood contexts. Owing to historical and present-day structural inequities, including systemic racism and other forms of oppression, low-income and minoritized populations in the United States tend to be overrepresented in neighborhoods characterized by economic disinvestment and social disruption.…”

The spatial-temporal effect of air pollution on individuals’ reported health and its variation by ethnic groups in the United Kingdom: A multilevel longitudinal analysis

“…Ethnicity forms an important topic in the health literature (19,20) and might be an important effect modi er in the association between air pollution and health. Ethnic minorities often report poorer health compared to the rest of the population (20)(21)(22)(23)(24). Literature from the UK has shown that people from Pakistani and Bangladeshi origins tend to have the poorest reported health followed by people from African/Caribbean and Indian origins (20,(24)(25)(26).…”

“…Ethnic minorities often report poorer health compared to the rest of the population (20)(21)(22)(23)(24). Literature from the UK has shown that people from Pakistani and Bangladeshi origins tend to have the poorest reported health followed by people from African/Caribbean and Indian origins (20,(24)(25)(26). This is because ethnic minorities, in general, tend to occupy lower socioeconomic status and live in more deprived ethnic concentration communities with poor housing conditions (20,(27)(28)(29).…”