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
. 2009 Nov;86(6):819-24.
doi: 10.1007/s11524-009-9380-5.

To reduce urban disparities in health, strengthen and enforce equitably environmental and consumer laws

Kenneth Olden  1 , Rose Marie Ramos, Nicholas Freudenberg
Affiliations

To reduce urban disparities in health, strengthen and enforce equitably environmental and consumer laws

Kenneth Olden et al. J Urban Health. 2009 Nov.

Abstract

While observers agree that reducing disparities in health is an important health priority for the USA, there is little agreement and no comprehensive plan to achieve this goal. In this commentary, we make the case for reducing the disproportionate exposure to environmental and consumer hazards as a promising strategy for reducing health disparities. Exposures to environmental risks such as air pollution, lead, and hazardous wastes and to consumer products such as tobacco, alcohol, and unhealthy food have been identified as significant threats to health and important contributors to disparities in health. Strengthening the regulations that prevent exposure to these harmful substances and enforcing these rules equitably could bring benefits to the population as a whole and especially to the disenfranchised, primarily urban, populations that are most exposed. The current policy environment may present a window of opportunity for pursuing this strategy.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1146/annurev.publhealth.031308.100310', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.031308.100310'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '19705554', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19705554/'}]}
    2. Berkman LF. Social epidemiology: social determinants of health in the United States: are we losing ground? Annu Rev Public Health. 2009; 30: 27-41. - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1001/jama.295.17.2037', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.295.17.2037'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '16670412', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16670412/'}]}
    2. Banks J, Marmot M, Oldfield Z, Smith JP. Disease and disadvantage in the United States and in England. JAMA. 2006; 295: 2037-2045. doi:10.1001/jama.295.17.2037. - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'PMC', 'value': 'PMC2518606', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2518606/'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '18687615', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18687615/'}]}
    2. Woolf SH, Johnson RE, Fryer GE Jr, Rust G, Satcher D. The health impact of resolving racial disparities: an analysis of US mortality data. Am J Public Health. 2008; 98(Suppl(9)): S26-S28. - PMC - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1371/journal.pmed.0050066', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050066'}, {'type': 'PMC', 'value': 'PMC2323303', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2323303/'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '18433290', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18433290/'}]}
    2. Ezzati M, Friedman AB, Kulkarni SC, Murray CJ. The reversal of fortunes: trends in county mortality and cross-county mortality disparities in the United States. PLoS Med. 2008; 5: e66. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0050066. - PMC - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1016/j.mcna.2005.02.001', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcna.2005.02.001'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '15925646', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15925646/'}]}
    2. Olden K, White SL. Health-related disparities: influence of environmental factors. Med Clin North Am. 2005; 89(4): 721-738. doi:10.1016/j.mcna.2005.02.001. - PubMed