Jephcote, C, Ropkins, K orcid.org/0000-0002-0294-6997 and Chen, H (2014) The effect of socio-environmental mechanisms on deteriorating respiratory health across urban communities during childhood. Applied Geography, 51. pp. 35-47. ISSN 0143-6228
Abstract
Spatial modelling techniques incorporating the social and physical structures of urban environments, previously establish a ‘triple jeopardy’ of social, respiratory health and environmental inequalities as operating within the multicultural UK City of Leicester (Jephcote & Chen, 2012). Expanding upon our initial findings, we aim to explore whether spatial relationships exist between relatively minor and severe respiratory conditions, and if so, then to what extent socio-environmental mechanisms play in the decline of children's respiratory health. Pearson's Correlation tests identified a high global level of correlation between children's acute upper and lower respiratory tract infections (URTI, LRTI), with Local Moran's I spatial autocorrelation tests identifying elevated hospitalisation rates across inner-city locales (p <0.05). Optimally weighted Geographically Weighted Regression models exploring the spatial distribution of children's URTI and LRTI respiratory hospitalisation incidents, expressed the extent to which individual socio-environmental mechanisms impeded health. Bivariate correlation statistics identified significant spatial trends between modelled URTI and LRTI admissions, with deprivation and TPM10 emissions detrimentally influencing respiratory health across inner-city communities (p <0.05). In contrast, lifestyle choices such as those seen by Indian residents, appeared to mitigate the onset of such conditions. Our findings suggest that exposure to detrimental socio-environmental factors may initiate URTI episodes, with prolonging recovery times likely occurring from sustained exposures. If a sufficient level of recovery is not reached in time for the cold season, then the child may become host to a viral infection exacerbating previous respiratory complaints. The findings of this investigation appear to confirm the existence of a link between certain socio-environmental influences and cases of ‘Catarrhal Child Syndrome’.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Keywords: | Air pollution; Environmental justice (EJ); Geographically weighted regression (GWR); Immunosuppressive response; Respiratory infections; Spatial analysis |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > Institute for Transport Studies (Leeds) > ITS: Spatial Modelling and Dynamics (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 04 Aug 2016 10:31 |
Last Modified: | 04 Aug 2016 10:31 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2014.03.003 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.apgeog.2014.03.003 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:102630 |