Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41380537›Full record

ArticleThe Science of the total environment2026

Impact of air pollution and population vulnerability on cancer mortality in the United States: A scoping review.

Nan Ji, Shanada Monestime, Lori Rosman, Chijindu Nwakama, Brittney Nichols, Ana M Rule, Kirsten Koehler, Lesliam Quirós-Alcalá

Abstract readScoping Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The Science of the total environment, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Nan JiDepartment of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Room E6616, Baltimore, MD, 21205, United States of America.
Shanada MonestimeDepartment of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Room E6616, Baltimore, MD, 21205, United States of America; Research, GO2 for Lung Cancer, Washington, DC, 2033 K Street NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC, 20006, United States of America. Electronic address: smonestime@go2.org.
Lori RosmanWelch Medical Library, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, 2024 East Monument Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, United States of America.
Chijindu NwakamaDepartment of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Room E6616, Baltimore, MD, 21205, United States of America.
Brittney NicholsResearch, GO2 for Lung Cancer, Washington, DC, 2033 K Street NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC, 20006, United States of America.
Ana M RuleDepartment of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Room E6616, Baltimore, MD, 21205, United States of America.
Kirsten KoehlerDepartment of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Room E6616, Baltimore, MD, 21205, United States of America.
Lesliam Quirós-AlcaláDepartment of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Room E6616, Baltimore, MD, 21205, United States of America.

Funding

Pilot Project ProgramP30ES032756 · NIEHS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI Marsha Wills-Karp · 2022 to 2026
$6.0M
NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES032756
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionAmbient air pollution is an important contributor to cancer risk. While previous studies have examined the impact of air pollution on cancer mortality, they have largely overlooked how population vulnerability indicators, such as socioeconomic status, interact with air pollution to influence cancer mortality across cancer types. This review aimed to address this gap by systematically reviewing these effect modifications and providing insights to inform efforts aimed at reducing differential health burdens.

methodsWe searched PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science for studies conducted in the U.S. published between January 1, 1994, and January 27, 2024. Covidence was used to manage study selection and data extraction, including study design, air pollutants, population vulnerability indicators (e.g., urbanicity, proximity to pollution, socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity), exposure assessment methods, cancer types, and findings.

resultsWe identified 15 articles and found that the associations between air pollution and cancer mortality varied by urbanicity and socioeconomic status. A slight majority of studies reported stronger associations in less urbanized populations and lower-SES groups. Black individuals experienced higher cancer mortality risks from air pollution than Whites, while findings for Hispanics and Asians were inconsistent.

conclusionAir pollution exposure and population vulnerability indicators jointly contribute to disparities in cancer mortality, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations such as those in less urbanized areas and marginalized racial and ethnic groups. Targeted research and policies are needed to mitigate these inequities, improve air quality, and reduce cancer mortality in high-risk communities.

Indexed as

Air PollutionEnvironmental ExposureNeoplasmsVulnerable PopulationsAir PollutantsHumansUnited StatesAir PollutantsAir pollutionCancer mortalityDisparitiesParticulate matterPopulation vulnerability

Identifiers

PMID41380537
PMCPMC13041582

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.