Dataset Information

Asian Americans and disproportionate exposure to carcinogenic hazardous air pollutants: A national study.

ABSTRACT: Studies have demonstrated disparate exposures to carcinogenic hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) in neighborhoods with high densities of Black and Hispanic residents in the US. Asians are the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the US, yet they have been underemphasized in previous studies of environmental health and injustice. This cross-sectional study investigated possible disparities in residential exposure to carcinogenic HAPs among Asian Americans, including Asian American subgroups in the US (including all 50 states and the District of Columbia, n = 71,208 US census tracts) using National Air Toxics Assessment and US Census data. In an unadjusted analysis, Chinese and Korean Americans experience the highest mean cancer risks from HAPs, followed by Blacks. The aggregated Asian category ranks just below Blacks and above Hispanics, in terms of carcinogenic HAP risk. Multivariate models adjusting for socioeconomic status, population density, urban location, and geographic clustering show that an increase in proportion of Asian residents in census tracts is associated with significantly greater cancer risk from HAPs. Neighborhoods with higher proportions (as opposed to lower proportions) of Chinese, Korean, and South Asian residents have significantly greater cancer risk burdens relative to Whites. Tracts with higher concentrations of Asians speaking a non-English language and Asians that are US-born have significantly greater cancer risk burdens. Asian Americans experience substantial residential exposure to carcinogenic HAPs in US census tracts and in the US more generally.

SUBMITTER: Grineski SE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5523857 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Asian Americans and disproportionate exposure to carcinogenic hazardous air pollutants: A national study.

Grineski Sara E SE Collins Timothy W TW Morales Danielle X DX

Social science & medicine (1982) 20170518

Studies have demonstrated disparate exposures to carcinogenic hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) in neighborhoods with high densities of Black and Hispanic residents in the US. Asians are the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the US, yet they have been underemphasized in previous studies of environmental health and injustice. This cross-sectional study investigated possible disparities in residential exposure to carcinogenic HAPs among Asian Americans, including Asian American subgroups in the ...[more]

PMID: 28554161

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundStudies suggest that higher breast cancer rates in urban areas persist after accounting for the prevalence of known risk factors, leading to speculation that urban environmental exposures, such as air pollution, may play a role in the etiology of breast cancer. Combining modeled ambient air concentrations with data from a large prospective cohort of California women with over 15 years of follow-up, we examined the relationship between breast cancer incidence and modeled concentrations of air pollutants shown to be mammary gland carcinogens (MGCs).MethodsThe study population of 112,378 California Teachers Study participants included 5,676 women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Modeled annual average ambient air concentrations of 24 MGCs from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were linked to participants' addresses. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard rate ratios and 95% confidence intervals associated with residential MGC levels. MGCs were examined individually and as a combined summary variable for all participants, in selected subsets, and by tumor hormone responsiveness.ResultsInitial models yielded some evidence for increased risk for several compounds, including acrylamide, carbon tetrachloride, chloroprene, 4,4'-methylene bis(2-chloroaniline), propylene oxide, and vinyl chloride, but after adjustment for multiple comparisons, only results for propylene oxide and vinyl chloride remained statistically significant. In subset analyses, estrogen-receptor positive or progesterone-receptor positive (ER+/PR+) tumors were associated with higher ambient levels of acrylamide, benzidine, carbon tetrachloride, ethylidene dichloride, and vinyl chloride, while ER-/PR- tumors were associated with higher ambient levels of benzene. Interesting results for different compounds were observed within certain subsets of the population.ConclusionWhile our initial models yielded several elevated risk estimates, after adjusting for multiple comparisons and breast cancer risk factors, most hazard ratios were no longer statistically significant. Our subset analyses, however, suggest that elevated risk may be associated with some compounds for certain subgroups of interest. A summary variable for all 24 MGCs did not offer any advantage over the models for individual compounds. Results must be interpreted cautiously, as estimated exposure was limited to modeled annual average ambient air concentrations, and could not account for other sources or routes other than inhalation.

Project description:BackgroundHuman papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a necessary cause in the development of cervical cancer; however, not all women infected with HPV develop cervical cancer indicating that other risk factors are involved. Our objective was to determine the association between exposure to ambient levels of common traffic-related air toxics and cervical dysplasia, a precursor lesion for cervical cancer.MethodsThe study sample consisted of women enrolled in a Phase II clinical trial to evaluate diagnostic techniques for cervical disease in Houston, Texas. The current assessment is a secondary data analysis in which cases were defined as women diagnosed with cervical dysplasia, while those without cervical dysplasia served as controls. Residential census tract-level estimates of ambient benzene, diesel particulate matter (DPM), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were used to assess exposure. Census tract-level pollutant estimates were obtained from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate prevalence odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, education, smoking status, and HPV status.ResultsWomen in the highest residential exposure categories for benzene and DPM had an increased prevalence of cervical dysplasia compared to the lowest exposure category (Benzene: aOR [95% CI] for high exposure = 1.97[1.07-3.62], very high exposure = 2.30[1.19-4.46]. DPM: aOR [95% CI] for high exposure = 2.83[1.55-5.16], very high exposure = 2.10[1.07-4.11]). Similarly, women with high residential exposure to PAHs had an increased prevalence of cervical dysplasia (aOR [95% CI] = 2.46[1.35-4.48]). The highest PAH exposure category was also positively associated with cervical dysplasia prevalence but was not statistically significant. Assessment of the combined effect of HAP exposure indicates that exposure to high levels of more than one HAP is positively associated with cervical dysplasia prevalence (p for trend = 0.004).ConclusionsTraffic-related HAPs, such as benzene, DPM, and PAHs, are not as well-regulated and monitored as criteria air pollutants (e.g., ozone), underscoring the need for studies evaluating the role of these toxicants on disease risk. Our results suggest that exposure to traffic-related air toxics may increase cervical dysplasia prevalence.

Dataset Information

Asian Americans and disproportionate exposure to carcinogenic hazardous air pollutants: A national study.

Publications

Asian Americans and disproportionate exposure to carcinogenic hazardous air pollutants: A national study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets