Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Examination of Multiple Air Pollutant Exposure, the Food Environment, and Low Birth Weight in Los Angeles, County

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  • Exposure to urban outdoor air pollution is ubiquitous and low birth weight represents an important health disparity in the United States. While previous research suggests that exposure to outdoor air pollutants are associated with term low birth weight, few studies have evaluated the effects of multipollutant outdoor air exposures or whether there is a spatial patterning to such associations. In addition, populations living in neighborhoods with poor air quality and high neighborhood deprivation may be more likely to reside in neighborhoods that are also characterized by adverse food environments. The first study investigated the overall association between fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) air pollution with term low birth weight (TLBW) in urban Los Angeles County. This first study also applies spatial multilevel modeling to explore spatial patterns in the exposure response relationship between PM₂.₅ and TLBW. The results from the first study indicates that higher exposure to PM₂.₅ is associated with a higher odds of TLBW and that the exposure response exhibits spatial dependence. The second study examines joint exposure to multiple outdoor air pollutants in Los Angeles County, including PM₂.₅, nitrogen dioxide [NO₂], and nitrogen oxide [NO]. The second study showed that multipollutant profiles with elevated exposure to NO₂, NO, and PM₂.₅ are associated with increased log odds of TLBW, and that multipollutant profiles characteristic of primary traffic emissions impart the greatest increased odds of TLBW. In the third study I examine the association between the neighborhood food environment and TLBW, and explore whether this relationship may be modified by air pollution exposure. In this study I also explore how the food environment clusters with other area-level TLBW risk factors, including income and greenness, and how exposure profiles for these area-level factors combine to impart risk of TLBW. This study found a higher odds of TLBW among mothers who resided in neighborhoods with reduced availability of more healthy food stores and increased availability of less healthy food stores. This study did not find that the food environment works as an effect modifier of PM₂.₅, however, the data provided evidence to suggest that the food environment may influence the magnitude of the association between PM₂.₅ and TLBW (but not the strength of the relationship). Furthermore, I identify neighborhoods with clustering of poor food environments, low socioeconomic status, and low greenness, which are associated with an elevated prevalence of TLBW.
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