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Sacoby Wilson is Co-Investigator on an EPA-funded regional project focused on increasing Best Management Practices in a sensitive ecological zone

Michael Paolisso is pursuing a mixed-method project, funded by NOAA through the University of New Hampshire, to examine the socio-ecological system of the Deal Island peninsula in Maryland

Faculty Associate Michael Paolisso and colleagues examine how diverse communities under severe threat from climate change impacts view climate change

MPRC Faculty Associate Klaus Hubacek demonstrates how material consumption in rich countries is fueled by pollution and environmental destruction in the developing world

Quynh Nguyen and Thu Nguyen examine how built environment features affect U.S. traffic collisions

Ginger Zhe Jin, University of Maryland, et al.; 2013-011

Sergio Urzua, University of Maryland; Tomás Rau, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Loreto Reyes, Ministry of Finance, Chile; 2013-015

  BACKGROUND: Stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Associations between short-term exposures to particulate matter (PM) air pollution and stroke are inconsistent. Many prior studies have used administrative and hospitalization databases where misclassification of the type and timing of the stroke event may be problematic. METHODS: In this case-crossover study, we used a nationwide kriging model to examine short-term ambient exposure to PM10 and PM2.5 and risk of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke among men enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Conditional logistic regression models were used to obtain estimates of odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) associated with an interquartile range (IQR) increase in PM2.5 or PM10. Lag periods up to 3 days prior to the stroke event were considered in addition to a 4-day average. Stratified models were used to examine effect modification by patient characteristics. RESULTS: Of the 727 strokes that occurred between 1999 and 2010, 539 were ischemic and 122 were hemorrhagic. We observed positive statistically significant associations between PM10 and ischemic stroke (ORlag0-3 = 1.26; 95% CI: 1.03-1.55 per IQR increase [14.46 μg/m3]), and associations were elevated for nonsmokers, aspirin nonusers, and those without a history of high cholesterol. However, we observed no evidence of a positive association between short-term exposure to PM and hemorrhagic stroke or between PM2.5 and ischemic stroke in this cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides evidence that ambient PM10 may be associated with higher risk of ischemic stroke and highlights that ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes are heterogeneous outcomes that should be treated as such in analyses related to air pollution.

The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between environmental changes and infectious diseases and their impact on health in environmental justice (EJ) communities. The evolution of EJ science and research is contingent upon an integrated approach that takes into account social processes and environmental changes to address the burden of infectious diseases in EJ communities. We recognize that infectious disease and environmental justice is novel and calls for more research in this area, especially as the focus of public health shifts towards an ecologic and social approach to disease prevention. We attempt to explore in further detail how environmental changes such as urbanization, agriculture, and climate variability could potentially influence pathogen dynamics, vector transmission, host susceptibility, and disease outcomes among environmental justice populations.

Lack of access to a health-promoting food environment can lead to poor health outcomes including obesity which is a problem for African-Americans in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Previous research examined the quality of the food environment at the regional level but did not consider local level indicators. In this study, we utilized an environmental justice framework to examine the local food environment in the County. We collected data from 127 food outlets, (convenience stores, grocery stores, and supermarkets), in three racially and socioeconomically diverse communities – Bladensburg (predominantly African American/ Black, with the lowest median household income); Greenbelt (similar percentage of non-white persons as Hyattsville, with the highest median household income); and Hyattsville (dominated by a Hispanic population). We examined the availability, quality, and accessibility of food within each community, using a modified version of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) healthy food availability index (HFAI).We also used ArcMap 10.6 to examine the spatial distribution of stores in relation to sociodemographic factors and generate descriptive statistics to examine HFAI score differences across the communities, sociodemographic composition, and store types at the block group level. Mean HFAI scores were 7.76, 10.75, and 9.60 for Bladensburg, Greenbelt, and Hyattsville, respectively suggesting a relative disparity in access to diverse healthy and good quality food sources for these communities although these differences were not statistically significant (p=0.79). Statistically significant differences between the communities were found with respect to ethnic stores, stores that sold fresh vegetables (p=0.047), and stores that sold fresh fruits (p=0.012). Getis-Ord Gi Hot Spot Analysis revealed one statistically significant cold spot at 95% confidence, and two others at 90% confidence in Hyattsville, indicating a cluster of low-scoring stores. The results indicate a potential need for expanded food infrastructure in these communities to improve public health. We also identified the need for culturally appropriate foods and proposed ethnic stores as potential salutogens to improve the food environment in culturally diverse neighborhoods.