The Impact of Living in an Environmental Justice Community on Infant Outcomes

Abstract

Background:

Exposure to environmental toxicants and climate change disproportionately affects communities of color and contributes to worse maternal and infant health outcomes. The aim of this article is to determine the effect of environmental justice (EJ) community status on preterm birth and low birthweight in Suffolk County, Massachusetts.

Methods:

A retrospective secondary data analysis was conducted linking the Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records from 2014 to 2018 to the 2010 EJ population layer. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to evaluate the associations between EJ community status, preterm birth, and low birthweight.

Results:

Living in an EJ community is associated with an increased risk of preterm birth and low birthweight compared with not living in an EJ community. However, regardless of EJ community status, non-Hispanic (NH) Black individuals had double the risk of having a preterm birth and infant born with low birthweight, and Native American/Alaska Native individuals were twice as likely to have a preterm birth in a non-EJ community compared with NH White individuals in a non-EJ community. Birthing individuals from almost all racial groups living in an EJ community had an increased risk of preterm birth.

Discussion:

Living in an EJ versus a non-EJ community is associated with worse infant health outcomes regardless of race; however, for Black and indigenous communities, the safety afforded by living in a non-EJ community does not hold.

Conclusion:

The multiple systemic factors that contribute to environmental and racial injustice need to be addressed if we want infant health outcomes to improve.