Associations between air pollution and pediatric asthma hospitalizations across vulnerable groups in Louisiana.
- 1Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana.
- 2Louisiana Department of Health, Bureau of Health Informatics, Office of Public Health, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Abstract
Background
Different socioeconomic and racial groups experience different environmental and health burdens across the United States, including for asthma. Understanding the disparate health effects of air pollution on asthma in Louisiana, a particularly vulnerable region, is limited.Objective
To evaluate whether associations of air pollution with pediatric asthma exacerbation vary across vulnerable groups in Louisiana.Methods
We analyzed 28,499 asthma hospitalization cases for <18-year-old individuals across Louisiana from 2010 to 2019 using a time-stratified case-crossover design, with a distributed lag nonlinear model up to 3-lag days. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) for associations between PM2.5, O₃, and NO₂ exposures and asthma hospitalizations. NO₂ data were limited to 2010-2016. Race and socioeconomic (by Medicaid status) effect modification were examined.Results
Cumulative exposures across lags 0-3 days were significantly associated with increased odds of asthma hospitalization for PM2.5 (OR = 1.079; 95% confidence interval = [1.052, 1.107]), O₃ (1.082 [1.050, 1.116]), and NO₂ (1.071 [1.034, 1.111]). Race-effect modification was not significant. Despite this, significant lag-specific patterns differed by race, with associations observed at lags 1-2 among Black children and at lag 3 among White children. In multipollutant models, associations were attenuated for O₃ and NO₂, while PM2.5 remained positively associated with asthma hospitalizations.Conclusions
Short-term increases in air pollution exposures are associated with an increased risk of hospitalizations for asthma among young populations in Louisiana. Given cumulative associations were similar across subgroups, the higher burden among Black children potentially highlights persistent exposure disparities. Reducing air pollution exposure may improve pediatric respiratory health.
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BibTeX
@article{luglio2026associations,
title = {{Associations between air pollution and pediatric asthma hospitalizations across vulnerable groups in Louisiana.}},
author = {David G Luglio and Chowdhury A Hossain and Rica P Monis and Balaji Ramesh and Erin Proven and Md Mostafijur Rahman},
journal = {Environmental epidemiology (Philadelphia, Pa.)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1097/ee9.0000000000000544},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42948851},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Associations between air pollution and pediatric asthma hospitalizations across vulnerable groups in Louisiana.
AU - David G Luglio
AU - Chowdhury A Hossain
AU - Rica P Monis
AU - Balaji Ramesh
AU - Erin Proven
AU - Md Mostafijur Rahman
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
JO - Environmental epidemiology (Philadelphia, Pa.)
DO - 10.1097/ee9.0000000000000544
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42948851
AB - Background Different socioeconomic and racial groups experience different environmental and health burdens across the United States, including for asthma. Understanding the disparate health effects of air pollution on asthma in Louisiana, a particularly vulnerable region, is limited.Objective To evaluate whether associations of air pollution with pediatric asthma exacerbation vary across vulnerable groups in Louisiana.Methods We analyzed 28,499 asthma hospitalization cases for <18-year-old individuals across Louisiana from 2010 to 2019 using a time-stratified case-crossover design, with a distributed lag nonlinear model up to 3-lag days. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) for associations between PM2.5, O₃, and NO₂ exposures and asthma hospitalizations. NO₂ data were limited to 2010-2016. Race and socioeconomic (by Medicaid status) effect modification were examined.Results Cumulative exposures across lags 0-3 days were significantly associated with increased odds of asthma hospitalization for PM2.5 (OR = 1.079; 95% confidence interval = [1.052, 1.107]), O₃ (1.082 [1.050, 1.116]), and NO₂ (1.071 [1.034, 1.111]). Race-effect modification was not significant. Despite this, significant lag-specific patterns differed by race, with associations observed at lags 1-2 among Black children and at lag 3 among White children. In multipollutant models, associations were attenuated for O₃ and NO₂, while PM2.5 remained positively associated with asthma hospitalizations.Conclusions Short-term increases in air pollution exposures are associated with an increased risk of hospitalizations for asthma among young populations in Louisiana. Given cumulative associations were similar across subgroups, the higher burden among Black children potentially highlights persistent exposure disparities. Reducing air pollution exposure may improve pediatric respiratory health.
SN - 2474-7882
ER -