Social and environmental exposures are strong drivers of health inequity and adverse health outcomes. However, data from studies that examine the longitudinal effect of social and environmental exposure burdens on kidney disease outcomes are limited. The environmental justice index–social environmental ranking, although imperfect, provides an important tool to address this gap in knowledge.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$32.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$189.00 per year
only $15.75 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity (The National Academies Press, 2017).
Marmot, M., Allen, J., Bell, R., Bloomer, E. & Goldblatt, P. WHO European review of social determinants of health and the health divide. Lancet 380, 1011–1029 (2012).
Dass, L. W. et al. New index demonstrates association between social vulnerability, environmental burden, and kidney failure risk among individuals with glomerular disease. Clin. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. https://doi.org/10.2215/CJN.0000000638 (2025).
Zajacova, A. & Lawrence, E. M. The relationship between education and health: reducing disparities through a contextual approach. Annu. Rev. Public Health 39, 273–289 (2018).
Singh, G. K. Area deprivation and widening inequalities in US mortality, 1969-1998. Am. J. Public Health 93, 1137–1143 (2003).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry/Geospatial Research, Analysis, and Services Program. CDC/ATSDR social vulnerability index. CDC https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/placeandhealth/svi/data_documentation_download.html (accessed 2 March 2025).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry. Environmental Justice Index. CDC https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/placeandhealth/eji/index.html (2022).
Mariani, L. H. et al. CureGN study rationale, design, and methods: establishing a large prospective observational study of glomerular disease. Am. J. Kidney Dis. 73, 218–229 (2019).
Institute of Medicine. Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care (The National Academies Press, 2003).
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Accountable Health Communities Model. CMS https://www.cms.gov/priorities/innovation/innovation-models/ahcm (accessed 1 March 2025).
Acknowledgements
The authors research efforts were supported by the National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Disease (R21DK131356, principal investigator: M.N.O.) and the National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities (K23MD016448, principal investigator: M.N.O.).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Supplementary information
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ozieh, M.N., Young, B.A. Assessing the effect of social and environmental burdens on kidney disease. Nat Rev Nephrol 21, 437–438 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41581-025-00955-0
Published:
Version of record:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41581-025-00955-0