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The Environmental Quality Index: associations of the land and socioeconomic domains with preterm birth in New Jersey.
Citation:
Messer, L. C., K. Rapazzo, J. S. JAGAI, AND D. T. LOBDELL. The Environmental Quality Index: associations of the land and socioeconomic domains with preterm birth in New Jersey. Presented at 23rd Annual Meeting of the Society of Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiologic Research (SPER), Seattle, WA, June 22 - 23, 2010.
Impact/Purpose:
Here we report on the successful combination of two domains (socioeconomic and land) and preliminary associations with preterm birth (PTB) for one state. New Jersey (NJ) was chosen for preliminary EQI exploration because women residing in 100% of their 21 counties deliver in sufficient numbers for singleton PTB (ranging from 7.4 to 12.8 percent) to be released from the National Center for Health Statistics (20032006).
Description:
Human health is affected by simultaneous exposure to positive and negative area-level features, but research often focuses on single exposures. To address this discontinuity, a county-level environmental quality index (EQI) is being constructed, including variables representing four domains previously associated with human health (air, water, land, and built Isocial environment) for the United States. Here we report on the successful combination of two domains (socioeconomic and land) and preliminary associations with preterm birth (PTB) for one state. New Jersey (NJ) was chosen for preliminary EQI exploration because women residing in 100% of their 21 counties deliver in sufficient numbers for singleton PTB (ranging from 7.4 to 12.8 percent) to be released from the National Center for Health Statistics (20032006). Variables representing the land (pesticide use, EPA facilities, geo-chemical compounds, percent rural) and socioeconomic domains (percent black, households with public assistance, income, unemployed, not completing high school) were reduced to a single index using principal components analysis (the first component was retained). The standardized index mean was 1.0 (standard deviation 0.0), and it ranged from -1.56 to 1.40, with higher values representing better environmental quality. In linear regression models, counties with higher environmental quality experienced lower rates of PTB (beta coefficient -0.30; 95% Confidence Interval: -0.56, -0.03). While ecological, these findings are suggestive for future work with social justice policy implications. Race-stratified results for the rest of the United States and for term low birth weight will be presented. This abstract does not necessarily reflect Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) policy.