Tuesday, 7 January 2025
Urban air pollution is unevenly distributed based on area-level socioeconomic status (SES), with communities of lower SES facing higher pollution burdens. However, this pattern is inconsistent across different regions and is often primarily observed in developed countries. This study investigates disparities in exposure to three common air pollutants (PM2.5, NO2, and O3) and the associated disease burdens across 13,189 cities worldwide, taking into account SES at both the country and city levels, as well as across various global regions. We assess multiple SES indicators, such as area-level income, education levels, and poverty rates. The study uses the concentration index, which ranges from -1.0 (indicating burdens concentrated among the lowest SES groups) to 1.0 (indicating burdens concentrated among the highest SES groups), to measure the extent of these disparities in disease burden. Our findings reveal that globally, cities with lower SES at both the country and city levels experience higher concentrations of PM2.5 and O3, but lower concentrations of NO2 and related disease burdens. For instance, cities in the lowest city-level SES decile, as measured by a deprivation index, have 2.82 and 1.27 times higher PM2.5 and O3 levels, respectively, but 0.5 times lower NO2 levels compared to cities in the highest SES decile. This results in concentration index values of -0.01 and -0.02 for PM2.5 and O3, respectively, indicating a slight concentration of disease burdens in lower SES groups, while the index for NO2 is 0.37, indicating a concentration of burden in higher SES groups. However, these results vary by global region. By identifying the SES indicators associated with higher pollution levels and determining which communities are most at risk in each region, our study can help policymakers allocate resources more effectively and implement targeted interventions to reduce environmental health disparities
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