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Development of an Overall Environmental Quality Index to Examine Health Outcomes
Citation:
LOBDELL, D. T., L. C. Messer, K. Rapazzo, AND J. S. JAGAI. Development of an Overall Environmental Quality Index to Examine Health Outcomes. Presented at International Society of Environmental Epidemiology, Columbia, SC, August 26 - 30, 2012.
Impact/Purpose:
Data representing five environmental domains (air, water, land, built and sociodemographic) were identified. County-level variables for the year 2002 were input into principal components analysis (PCA) to construct domain specific indices which were used to construct the EQI. Counties (n=3141) were stratified based on Rural Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC) into four categories: urban (n=1089), large town (n=323), small town (n=1059), and isolated rural (n=670); index construction was repeated for each stratum.
Description:
Background: Environmental exposures tend to cluster and disamenities, such as landfills or industrial plants, are often located in areas with a high percentage of minority and poor residents. While we tend to model isolated environmental factors, no single exposure can be held responsible for good or poor health. Objectives: To address the multifaceted nature of environmental exposures, we developed an Environmental Quality Index (EQI) for all counties in the United States. Methods: Data representing five environmental domains (air, water, land, built and sociodemographic) were identified. County-level variables for the year 2002 were input into principal components analysis (PCA) to construct domain specific indices which were used to construct the EQI. Counties (n=3141) were stratified based on Rural Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC) into four categories: urban (n=1089), large town (n=323), small town (n=1059), and isolated rural (n=670); index construction was repeated for each stratum. Results: The most influential environmental factors, based on PCA loadings, differed across RUCC strata. In all areas air and built environment domains were the strongest drivers of the EQI (loadings ranging from about 0.65 to about 0.56), suggesting these domains contribute importantly to environmental conditions. The strength and direction of the loadings in water, land, and socio-demographic domains varied across strata. Conclusions: Data representing multiple environmental domains were successfully combined into one index representing overall county level environmental conditions. The EQI has been developed to explore associations with adverse health outcomes, specifically, birth outcomes and infant mortality. This abstract does not necessarily reflect EPA policy.