Abstract
Air pollution disproportionately affects marginalized populations of lower socioeconomic status. There is little literature on how socioeconomic status affects the risk of exposure to air pollution and associated health outcomes, particularly for children’s health. The objective of this article was to review the existing literature on air pollution and children’s health and discern how socioeconomic status affects this association. The concept of environmental injustice recognizes how underserved communities often suffer from higher air pollution concentrations in addition to other underlying risk factors for impaired health. This exposure then exerts larger effects on their health than it does in the average population, affecting the whole body, including the lungs and the brain. Children, whose organs and mind are still developing and who do not have the means of protecting themselves or creating change, are the most vulnerable to the detrimental effects of air pollution and environmental injustice. The adverse health effects of air pollution and environmental injustice can harm children well into adulthood and may even have transgenerational effects. There is an urgent need for action in order to ensure the health and safety of future generations, as social disparities are continuously increasing, due to social discrimination and climate change.
Highlights
While high-income countries, such as countries in Western Europe and the USA, see a decrease of air pollution concentrations, air pollution concentrations are increasing in low- to middle-income countries, such as
The article delves deeper into the differences between different indoor and outdoor air pollutants and how children of lower socioeconomic status are often exposed to both types of air pollution
Indoor and outdoor air pollution can both result in similar physical health problems, as they both affect the body through similar mechanisms
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Air pollution causes up to seven-million premature deaths yearly [5] These deaths are disproportionately in areas of lower socioeconomic status in low- to middle-income countries [2]. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 795 pollution can disproportionately affect marginalized populations, such as communities with lower socioeconomic status [9], which is a person’s combined economic and social standings. Low socioeconomic status affects many aspects of a person’s life and it is often accompanied by risk factors, such as malnutrition and lack of access to healthcare Factors, such as lower socioeconomic status as well as discrimination, can cause social and psychological stress, which makes the body more susceptible to infections and diseases [13]. This review article explores how children’s socioeconomic status can increase their exposure to air pollution and affect their risk of respiratory and cognitive health effects. The article delves deeper into the differences between different indoor and outdoor air pollutants and how children of lower socioeconomic status are often exposed to both types of air pollution
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