Sociodemographic disparities in ambient particulate matter exposure in Austria
利用奥地利市级数据，研究发现外国居民和低教育程度人群暴露于更高浓度的颗粒物，收入与暴露呈倒U型关系，揭示社会经济弱势社区承受更高的环境健康风险。
We investigate the unequal exposure of neighborhoods to ambient particulate matter in Austria, utilizing municipality-level data from the European Environment Agency and sociodemographic data from Statistics Austria. Particulate matter is a major contributor to environmental health risks, and despite progress, large parts of Austria exceed safe air quality levels. Our analysis shows that foreign nationals encounter considerably higher levels of particulate matter exposure. This finding remains robust to the inclusion of various controls, across different exposure indicators, within and between regions, as well as within urban and rural neighborhoods. Furthermore, people with low educational attainment tend to be more exposed to particulate matter. Regarding income, we observe an inverted U-shaped pattern in which positive associations are prevalent across most income levels, with insignificant or negative links observed at high incomes. Overall, our findings underscore that socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods are exposed to higher levels of particulate matter.