Leading for Health Equity
Air Pollution: A Problem We All Face
by Wayne B. Tuckson, MD
African Americans between the ages of 18 and 64 have higher death rates from cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and renal disease compared to whites. These same diseases are presenting at increasing earlier ages in Blacks than in whites.
In Jefferson County, African Americans die at rates higher than whites from heart disease and cancer. The average life expectancy in Jefferson County is 74.8 years. In the predominantly white East End, the life expectancy is 81 years, but in the predominantly African American northwest core, it is 65.4 years. 2
Reasons for this disparity may be explained by the socio-political determinants of health including access, food insecurity, insurance, employment and education. However, an equal, if not greater explanation may be exposure to airborne environmental contaminants.
A 2018 analysis in the Lancet estimated that in 2015, ambient air pollution accounted for 9 million premature deaths or 16 % of all deaths
worldwide. Like other exogenous factors affecting health status, the impact of air pollution is not equally distributed. Diseases caused by pollution are more prevalent in minority and marginalized communities. 1 It is estimated that between 88,000 and 107,000 deaths and 91,000 premature deaths in the U. S. can be attributed to airborne pollutants.
Passenger and commercial vehicular traffic are the most significant sources of air pollution, but other sources such as coal burning plants and industries, such as those in Rubbertown are major contributors. 2
Industrial pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone and particulate matter, PM 2. 5 and PM 10
,( particles with diameters less than 2.5 mg and 10 mg, respectively) are significant because they are associated with increased risks for cardiovascular disease mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, increased hospital admission for congestive heart failure, neurologic disorders, immune dysfunction and diabetes mellitus.,
I do not suggest that globally, nationally or even in Jefferson County the effects of pollution are limited to poor, marginalized or minority
8 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE