ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM AND HEALTH OUTCOMES IN BRAZIL: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Environmental racism, the disproportionate environmental burden experienced by racialized communities, represents a critical intersection of social justice and public health. Despite Brazil's racial diversity and environmental challenges, systematic evidence on environmental racism and health outcomes remains limited. This systematic review synthesizes available evidence following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Seven databases were searched from January 2017 to September 2025 for studies examining environmental exposures, racialized populations, and health outcomes in Brazil. From 59 identified records, 18 studies met inclusion criteria (40% inclusion rate). Quilombola communities were the most studied population (38.9%), with inadequate sanitation as the predominant exposure (83.3%). All studies documented environmental racism through disproportionate hazard exposure, inadequate government response, and systematic exclusion from decision-making. Exploratory meta-analyses revealed extreme heterogeneity (I²>75%), precluding quantitative synthesis. Environmental racism is consistently documented across Brazilian contexts, with inadequate sanitation as the primary injustice. Quilombola and Indigenous communities face disproportionate environmental health burdens rooted in historical marginalization and institutional neglect. Future research should prioritize methodological standardization to enable robust quantitative synthesis.