New Publication in Science of The Total Environment

I co-authored an article in Science of the Total Environment entitled “Residential air pollution, greenspace, and adverse mental health outcomes in the U.S. Gulf Long-term Follow-up Study” led by Dr. Emily Werder. We assessed the potential relationship between multiple mental health outcomes (mood disorders: depression and distress) and exposure to ambient air pollution (annual average concentrations of particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter [PM_2.5] and nitrogen dioxide [NO₂]) and greenness (Enhanced Vegetation Index [EVI]) for participants within the Gulf Long-Term Follow-up Study. We linked National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Sociodemographic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data to participant residential addresses at home visit. Using adjusted log-binomial regression we observed the highest level of PM_2.5 exposure was associated with higher levels of depression. We also observed the highest level of greenness was associated with lower levels of depression and appears to mitigate the impact of PM_2.5 on depression. We also linked (and adjusted for) U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural-urban commuting area codes (RUCA) and Area Deprivation Index (ADI) from the University of Wisconsin. My largest contribution to the study was designing and performing the majority of the data linkages.