School-based Exposure to Hazardous Air Pollutants and Grade Point Average: A Multi-level study

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Abstract

The problem of environmental health hazards around schools is serious but it has been neglected by researchers. Studies have demonstrated that higher school-level pollution is associated with lower aggregate school-level standardized test scores at school, likely related to increased respiratory illnesses and/or impaired cognitive development. However, an important question remains unexamined: How do school-level exposures impact individual children’s academic performance? To address this, we obtained socio-demographic and grades data from the parents of 1,888 fourth and fifth grade children in El Paso (Texas) in 2012. School-based HAP exposure was calculated using census block-level US Environmental Protection Agency National Air Toxics Assessment risk estimates for respiratory and diesel particulate matter. School-level demographics were obtained from the school district. Multi-level models adjusting for individual-level covariates (e.g., sex, race/ethnicity, economic deprivation) and school-level covariates (e.g., total enrollment, percent of students economically disadvantaged, student-teacher ratio) showed that increases in school-level HAPs were significantly associated with lower grade point averages. An interquartile range increase in school-level HAP exposure was associated with an adjusted 0.11 (95% CI: -0.257, -0.047, for non-road diesel PM risk) to 0.40 (-0.635, -0.173, for total respiratory risk) point decrease in GPA, depending on HAP type and emission source. Non-road mobile and total respiratory risk had the largest effects on children’s GPA of all HAP variables studied and only mother’s level of education had a larger effect. The study finds associations between school-based HAP exposures and lower GPAs, indicating the need for regulations on school siting and adjacent land uses.

Authors

• Sara Elizabeth Grineski, University of Texas at El Paso

• Stephanie Clark, Northeastern University

• Timothy William Collins, University of Texas-El Paso