Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jun;5(2):101-113.
doi: 10.1007/s40471-018-0146-z. Epub 2018 Apr 21.

A Review of Environmental Epidemiology Studies in Southwestern and Mountain West Rural Minority Populations

Melissa Gonzales  1 , Esther Erdei  2 , Joseph Hoover  2 , Jacob Nash  3
Affiliations

A Review of Environmental Epidemiology Studies in Southwestern and Mountain West Rural Minority Populations

Melissa Gonzales et al. Curr Epidemiol Rep. 2018 Jun.

Abstract

Purpose of review: This review summarizes the recent epidemiologic literature examining environmental exposures and health outcomes in rural, minority populations in the southwestern and mountain west region of the United States identifying areas requiring further data and research.

Recent findings: Recent studies (2012-2017) in this region have primarily focused on arsenic exposure (n=10 studies) with similar results reported across populations in this region. Associations between arsenic and cadmium were reported for cardiovascular and kidney disease, type II diabetes, cognitive function, hypothyroidism, and increased prevalence and mortality for lung and other cancers. Also in this review are studies of exposure to particulate matter, environmental tobacco smoke, pesticides and fungicides, heat and ozone.

Summary: Although small, the current literature identified in this review report consistent adverse health outcomes associated with particulate matter, arsenic, cadmium, and other exposures among rural, minority populations in the southwest/mountain west region of the U.S. This literature provides important insight into the environmental exposures and health effects experienced by the rural populations in these regions. Additional studies that identify sources of environmental exposure are needed. Greater representation of the rural and minority populations from this region into large health studies also remains a need.

Keywords: environmental epidemiology; environmental exposure; minority population; rural population; southwestern United States; western United States.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flowchart of the search, screening, and inclusion/exclusion process. From [6]. For more information, visit www.prisma-statement.org
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ennis SR, Ríos-Vargas M, Albert NG. The Hispanic Population: 2010: U.S. Census Bureau; 2011.
    1. Norris T, Vines PL, Hoeffel EM. The American Indian and Alaska Native Population: 2010 U.S. Census Bureau; 2012.
    1. United States Census Bureau: Resident Population Data (Text Version) https://www.census.gov/2010census/data/apportionment-dens-text.php. Accessed 2/22/2018.
    1. Grant MJ, Booth A. A typology of reviews: an analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information & Libraries Journal 2009;26(2):91–108. doi:10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ouzzani M, Hammady H, Fedorowicz Z, Elmagarmid A. Rayyan—a web and mobile app for systematic reviews. Systematic Reviews 2016;5(1):210. doi:10.1186/s13643-016-0384-4. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources

-