title: Race/ethnicity, residential segregation, and exposure to ambient air pollution: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We described the associations of ambient air pollution exposure with race/ethnicity and racial residential segregation.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 5921 White, Black, Hispanic, and Chinese adults across 6 US cities between 2000 and 2002. Household-level fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) were estimated for 2000. Neighborhood racial composition and residential segregation were estimated using US census tract data for 2000.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants in neighborhoods with more than 60% Hispanic populations were exposed to 8% higher PM2.5 and 31% higher NOX concentrations compared with those in neighborhoods with less than 25% Hispanic populations. Participants in neighborhoods with more than 60% White populations were exposed to 5% lower PM2.5 and 18% lower NOX concentrations compared with those in neighborhoods with less than 25% of the population identifying as White. Neighborhoods with Whites underrepresented or with Hispanics overrepresented were exposed to higher PM2.5 and NOX concentrations. No differences were observed for other racial/ethnic groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Living in majority White neighborhoods was associated with lower air pollution exposures, and living in majority Hispanic neighborhoods was associated with higher air pollution exposures. This new information highlighted the importance of measuring neighborhood-level segregation in the environmental justice literature.
authors.affiliation: Miranda R. Jones and Eliseo Guallar are with the Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD. Wendy S. Post is with the Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Ana Navas-Acien is with the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Ana V. Diez-Roux and Marie S. O'Neill are with the Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor. Anjum Hajat and Joel D. Kaufman are with the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle. Kiarri N. Kershaw is with the Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Miranda R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Ana V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Diez-Roux
authors.forename: Anjum
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hajat
authors.forename: Kiarri N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Kershaw
authors.forename: Marie S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: O'Neill
authors.forename: Eliseo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Guallar
authors.forename: Wendy S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Post
authors.forename: Joel D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Kaufman
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Navas-Acien
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001213:Asian / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009589:Nitrogen Oxides; D052638:Particulate Matter; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D009589:Nitrogen Oxides; D052638:Particulate Matter