Air pollution and health: patterns of perception and response in Houston, 2000–2022

Sociodemographic patterns and determinants of concern for air pollution are critical to understand given the health benefits of clean air. Yet little evidence exists on group differences in health-specific concern over time and behaviors related to the health consequences of polluted air. We use data from Houston, Texas, to describe how individual sociodemographic characteristics and the local environmental context correlate with health concern for air pollution over two decades, and we estimate associations between health conditions and mitigation behaviors. Findings come from regression analyses of 11 population-representative, cross-sectional surveys conducted between 2000 and 2022 (N = 14,986). Results reveal a secular decline in health concern over the two-decade period, greater concern in communities with high PM2.5 levels, and patterned differences by race, gender, and political party. Differences in health concern by race and political party persisted in mid-2000s and peaked in the late 2010s, while gender differences were evident in the early 2000s and have since narrowed. From the most recent survey, we document positive associations between respiratory health conditions and mitigation behaviors, such as air purifier use. Together, this article offers novel insights into dynamic patterns and correlates of health concerns for air pollution, which can point policymakers and public health officials toward effective messaging strategies to combat the effects of pollutants for population health.