Community Stressors and Susceptibility to Air Pollution in Urban Asthma

Epidemiological evidence suggests that chronic stress, which alters immune function and other physiologic parameters, may alter individual susceptibility to the health effects of traffic-related air pollution. There is growing interest in exploring combined effects of social and physical exposures, and in developing methods to examine synergistic effects. Social stressors (like poverty) and pollution may be spatially correlated, clustered in lower-income communities. Thus, the most pollution-exposed communities (like Northern Manhattan, for example) may also be the most susceptible. Understanding this interplay is critical to protecting susceptible populations and improving public health.

Towards this end, WE ACT has partnered with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYCDOHMH) to examine chronic stress at the community scale (e.g., percent households below poverty line), ambient scale stressors that vary geographically (e.g., noise near major roads), and at the individual scale (e.g., perceived stress). The results of this research will be available for public review beginning in 2012.