Adding to decades of evidence on the negative effects of the historical discriminatory practice called redlining, a new study finds that those who lived in redlined neighborhoods in 1940 had a lower life expectancy than those who did not.

From 1935 to 1940, the Home Owners鈥� Loan Corporation (HOLC) graded US neighborhoods on their creditworthiness for federal mortgage refinancing. Grades and their corresponding colors ranged from A-rated green areas that were deemed 鈥渂est鈥� to D-rated red areas classified as 鈥渉azardous.鈥� The D-rated 鈥渞edlined鈥� zones contained disproportionate numbers of Black residents, noted an accompanying commentary.

Studies have shown that historically redlined areas today contain fewer pharmacies, have poorer air and water quality, and are more likely to include a higher density of alcohol and tobacco retail outlets. Considering these and other factors, residents in historically redlined neighborhoods are at increased risk of negative health outcomes such as preterm birth, lead poisoning, asthma, cancer, and cardiovascular disease, the commentary noted.

The latest study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, examined the death records of more than 960鈥�000 individuals who in 1940 had resided in HOLC-graded neighborhoods within 30 of the largest US cities. It found that by the age of 65 years, individuals who lived in D-graded areas in 1940 had a life expectancy 1.4 years lower than those who resided within A-graded areas.

The researchers noted that their findings should be interpreted 鈥渁s the product of a much broader set of sociopolitical forces鈥�that were all effectively encoded within HOLC maps.鈥�

Published Online: October 25, 2024. doi:10.1001/jama.2024.21824