Theses and Dissertations

ORCID

0009-0008-0201-789X

Advisor

Ambinakudige, Shrinidhi

Committee Member

Rodgers, John

Committee Member

Dash, Padmanava

Date of Degree

8-12-2026

Original embargo terms

Immediate Worldwide Access

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Geoscience (Geospatial Sciences)

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Geosciences

Abstract

Asthma is a common respiratory disease with growing evidence linking air pollution as a major risk factor. This study examined associations between asthma prevalence among U.S. adults and satellite-derived pollutant estimates (NO2, SO2, PM2.5/AOD) across major metropolitan areas. Individual-level and aggregated data from the 2022 SMART BRFSS were analyzed using multilevel logistic regression and spatial hotspot analysis, respectively. Results showed that higher SO2 concentrations were associated with increased odds of asthma, while NO2 showed an inverse association and AOD was not statistically significant in fully adjusted models. Lower household income was associated with increased asthma odds. The spatial analysis revealed that southern Atlanta had the largest NO2-asthma overlap, while Philadelphia showed the highest overlap for SO2 and AOD. These areas coincided with minority-dominated communities. Overall, the findings highlight spatial patterns in asthma and pollution exposure across U.S. metropolitan areas and demonstrate how environmental and socioeconomic factors jointly shape asthma risk.

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