The haves, the have-nots, and the health of everyone: the relationship between social inequality and environmental quality

Annual Review of Public Health
Lara CushingManuel Pastor

Abstract

A growing body of literature suggests that more unequal societies have more polluted and degraded environments, perhaps helping explain why more unequal societies are often less healthy. We summarize the mechanisms by which inequality can lead to environmental degradation and their relevance for public health. We review the evidence of a relationship between environmental quality and social inequality along the axes of income, wealth, political power, and race and ethnicity. Our review suggests that the evidence is strongest for air- and water-quality measures that have more immediate health implications; evidence is less strong for more dispersed pollutants that have longer-term health impacts. More attention should be paid in research and in practice to links among inequality, the environment, and health, including more within-country studies that may elucidate causal pathways and points of intervention. We synthesize common metrics of inequality and methodological considerations in an effort to bring cohesion to such efforts.

References

Oct 7, 1997·American Journal of Public Health·I KawachiD Prothrow-Stith
Mar 16, 2004·The Milbank Quarterly·John LynchMichael Wolfson
Jul 6, 2004·Epidemiologic Reviews·S V Subramanian, Ichiro Kawachi
Oct 18, 2005·Social Science & Medicine·Richard G Wilkinson, Kate E Pickett
Mar 2, 2006·Journal of Hypertension·Gian Paolo Rossi
Jul 11, 2006·Environmental Research·Rachel Morello-Frosch, Russ Lopez
May 17, 2007·PloS One·Gregory M MikkelsonGarry D Peterson
Sep 17, 2008·Risk Analysis : an Official Publication of the Society for Risk Analysis·Jonathan I LevyNeha Mukhi
Sep 22, 2009·Conservation Biology : the Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology·Tim G HollandAndrew Gonzalez
Nov 12, 2009·BMJ : British Medical Journal·Naoki KondoZentaro Yamagata
Oct 27, 2011·Oxford Economic Papers·Martin GassebnerJan-Egbert Sturm
Jan 10, 2012·Annual Review of Public Health·Ana V Diez Roux
May 23, 2013·Environmental Health Perspectives·Bill M JesdaleLara Cushing

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Feb 11, 2016·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Viniece JenningsJessica Yun
Sep 12, 2015·Behavioral Sciences & the Law·Cheryl Erwin
Aug 2, 2015·Current Environmental Health Reports·Joan A CaseyKeeve E Nachman
May 14, 2016·PloS One·Nicolle A ModeAlan B Zonderman
Dec 14, 2017·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Joan A CaseyRachel Morello-Frosch
Apr 17, 2018·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Raoul S Liévanos
Dec 15, 2017·Environmental Health : a Global Access Science Source·Ben K GreenfieldThomas E McKone
Sep 15, 2018·Journal of Trauma Nursing : the Official Journal of the Society of Trauma Nurses·Judy N MikhailElizabeth G NeSmith
Dec 29, 2017·ANS. Advances in Nursing Science·Sarah K Valentine-MaherGary Laustsen
Feb 27, 2020·Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association·Juan Declet-BarretoAndrew A Rosenberg
Jan 24, 2016·Current Environmental Health Reports·P B English, M J Richardson
Jan 27, 2019·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·M Graziano Ceddia
Sep 24, 2019·Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community·Kerry S Kleyman, Kelly L Hazel
Sep 25, 2019·Health Education & Behavior : the Official Publication of the Society for Public Health Education·Jill E JohnstonManish Arora
Jul 1, 2020·Environmental Science and Pollution Research International·Yawei GuoChien-Chiang Lee
Oct 25, 2016·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Kerry ArdThelma Velez
Jun 5, 2018·Environmental Science and Pollution Research International·Mantu Kumar MahalikBhagaban Sahoo
Jun 20, 2020·Environmental Science and Pollution Research International·Xiaowei MaChuandong Li
Feb 8, 2021·Journal of Environmental Management·Lan Khanh Chu, Dung Phuong Hoang
Aug 8, 2021·Environmental Science and Pollution Research International·Kazeem Bello Ajide, Ridwan Lanre Ibrahim
Dec 16, 2020·Environmental Science & Technology·Clara M A EichlerJohn C Little

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Methods Mentioned

BETA
environmental stress

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Barrett Esophagus

Barrett’s esophagus if a serious complication of gastroesophageal reflux disease during which the normal esophageal lining changes to tissue that resembles intestinal lining. Here is the latest research.