Air pollution is more likely to induce emergency mental health crises in neighborhoods that were once redlined, new research found.
The study builds on previous research tying poor air quality to negative mental health impacts. In the new study, a geographer and a psychologist at State University of New York at Buffalo teamed up to examine whether the issue is more acute in neighborhoods that discriminatory federal housing policies once deemed undesirable for mortgage lending.
Published Thursday, the research found that across the 17 cities in New York that once had redlining policies, mental health emergency room visits were more correlated to air pollution in the once low-rated neighborhoods. Cities examined include Buffalo, Rochester, Albany and the boroughs of New York City.
“There was a significant association between air pollutant exposure and ER visits throughout these cities’ various neighborhoods, but it was most pronounced in their redlined communities, negatively impacting the vulnerable population that still lives there,” Eunhye Yoo, professor of geology and lead author on the study, said in a release that accompanied the study’s publication.
