Undergraduate research project: (8PTS)

 

photo: SSRP Research Cohort at UCLA for the Amgen Conference

 

Over the summer, I participated in the Stanford Summer Research Program, in which I conducted public health research, further diving deep into health disparities, particularly with pollution. Below is my completed abstract, which explains the depth of my project.

Researchers have long recognized the disproportionate impact of air pollution on individuals from diverse social backgrounds, highlighting enduring environmental disparities. Furthermore, numerous studies have documented race as a predictor of pollutant exposure, with sociodemographic factors contributing to variations in exposure among racial groups. Naphthalene, a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), is produced during the incomplete combustion of coal, oil, gas, garbage, and other organic substances. Exposure has been linked to sources including industrial combustion activities, secondhand smoke, and, in extreme cases, ingestion of mothballs. Human exposure to naphthalene can be estimated through urine analysis by measuring its metabolite, hydroxynaphthalene. Previous research has identified disparities in hydroxynaphthalene levels among racial groups; however, there is a limited understanding of how other demographic factors, such as age, education level, gender, and poverty index, influence an individual’s likelihood of exposure at the population level. We analyzed data from a stratified group of non-smoking individuals from the 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to investigate the effect of age, gender, poverty index, and education level on the role of race as a predictor for urine 2-hydroxynaphthalene levels. Through a comparison of linear regression coefficients, it was determined that while education level and family monthly poverty index level have accounted for some of the impact that race/ethnicity has as a predictor, there is still a significant difference in mean 2-hydroxynaphthalene between racial/ethnic groups. Going forward, sustained action is required to reduce naphthalene release, especially in Black and Hispanic neighborhoods due to their fixed inequity. 

by Kamille See