Grantee Research Project Results
Analysis of Climate Change Related Chemical and Non-Chemical Stressor Exposures: Cumulative Health Impacts and Risk Trajectories in Vulnerable Ohio Census Tracts
EPA Grant Number: R840471Title: Analysis of Climate Change Related Chemical and Non-Chemical Stressor Exposures: Cumulative Health Impacts and Risk Trajectories in Vulnerable Ohio Census Tracts
Investigators: Hood, Darryl , Miller, Harvey , Ard, Kerry , Thomas, Jason , Usher, Kareem , Le, Huyen , Juarez, Paul D , Tabatabai, Mohammad , Im, Wonsoo , Ramesh, Aramandla , Mouton, Charles P. , Langston, Michael A , Al-Hamdan, Mohammad
Institution: The Ohio State University , Meharry Medical College , University of Tennessee -Knoxville , University of Mississippi , The University of Texas Medical Branch - Galveston
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: December 1, 2022 through November 30, 2025
Project Amount: $1,294,249
RFA: Cumulative Health Impacts at the Intersection of Climate Change, Environmental Justice, and Vulnerable Populations/Lifestages: Community-Based Research for Solutions (2021) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Environmental Justice , Human Health
Objective:
The overarching aim of this proposal is to analyze and model the impact of climate change related chemical and non-chemical stressor exposures on personal health outcomes of residents living in environmental justice communities. Specifically, we will assess and model the independent, latent, cumulative, and interactive effects of climate change related environmental contaminants (PM2.5, criteria air pollutants, indoor air contaminants, traffic related pollution, combustion related contaminants) and non-chemical stressors from the built, natural, physical and social environments, inherent personal characteristics, activities, and behaviors, on the progression of disparate health and policy outcomes, over time, among the case-control cohort.
Approach:
Our on-the ground Environmental Justice (EJ) community cohort in Columbus, Ohio will be juxtaposed and compared to a de-identified non-EJ cohort based on data provided by CareSource of Ohio on Medicaid claims data. The three EJ communities are the Mt. Vernon, Near East Side and Linden communities. We will use a longitudinal, prospective cohort design to assess the effects of climate change related chemical and non-chemical stressor exposures on the personal health and policies impacting residents in the “exposed” (i.e., EJ community) and “unexposed” (non-EJ community) cohorts over time. The EJ cohort will include (N=240) residents ages (18-65 with 50% women and 50% men) chosen from one of the three EJ communities in Columbus, OH and who are patients of Primary One Health and/or Ohio State University that enrolled to receive care via a community care mobile clinic and an array of services from our multidisciplinary community stakeholder research team. (See Letters of Support) De-identified data for an age matched non-EJ cohort (N=240) will be provided by CareSource of Ohio based on Medicaid claims from census tracts outside of Columbus, OH. Data from four categories of chemical and non-chemical stressor exposures and four sources of personal health data will be linked to residential addresses of residents in both the EJ and non-EJ cohorts for the years 2014- 2020. Individuals will be followed for the following conditions: Inpatient Care, Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Outpatient dialysis, Stroke, Respiratory Disease, High Cholesterol, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Obesity, Hypertension, Cancer, Kidney disease, Part B drug, Osteoporosis, adverse pregnancy outcomes (PTB, LBE, IM), and other chronic diseases and related conditions as indicated by subclinical ICD9 and ICD10 codes from the EMR. A variety of data analyses and modeling techniques will be used to assess the relationships between: 1) spatially and temporally continuous, daily measures of mobility, PM2.5 (3-km grid), criteria air pollutants, (3-km grid) traffic related pollution, and heat metrics (minimum/maximum temperature, heat index (1-km grid); 2) annual county measures of over 20,000 chemical and non-chemical exposures from the built, natural, physical and social-policy environments, and 3) personal health access, utilization and outcome data obtained from electronic health records of residents/patients of Primary One Health, a FQHC and/or The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
Expected Results:
Data will be curated and integrated to estimate the extent to which residents exhibit differential risk trajectories for disparate health and policy outcomes at the population-level in response to climate change related chemical and non-chemical stressor exposures from the built, natural, physical, and social environment.
Progress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.