Asthma Risk Isn’t Increased For Inner Cities

Despite the popular belief, asthma risk isn’t increased for children living in inner cities, according to a new study published on Tuesday.

Asthma is a lung disease that affects more than 25 million Americans, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Of those 25 million, about 7 million are children.

Researchers at John Hopkins University found that being poor, black, or Puerto Rican was a greater factor to determine a child’s asthma risk rather than living in a city.

Dr. Corinne Keet, a pediatric and allergy specialist at John Hopkins who led the study, explained prior studies examined asthma rates within specific cities. However, no study has ever compared asthma rates in inner cities across the United States.

The John Hopkins researchers used data on more than 23,000 children between the years 2009-2011 from the National Health Interview Survey. The researchers looked at the asthma rates based on population figures along with other factors, such as income, race, and ethnicity.

The study found no statistical significant difference that put children at a greater asthma risk in inner cities, debunking the idea of an “inner city asthma epidemic.”

Notably, their data determined black and Puerto Rican children had higher asthma rates at 17 and 20 percent respectively. White children were at 10 percent, other Hispanic children at nine percent, and Asian children at eight percent.

The study didn’t determine causation for the rates, but researchers pointed out that other studies suggest potential genetic and biological causes for these racial and ethnic differences.

The researchers also found geographical differences, such as cities in the Northeast and Midwest having higher asthma rates than those in western states.

However, poor suburban areas of the Northeast had higher rates than neighboring cities, signifying that city life wasn’t the reason for the increase. Poverty is associated with worse diets, more stress, and less breast-feeding, all of which increase the risk for asthma.

The factors that influence the severity of asthma weren’t examined by the researchers. The authors said that data would be dissected in their follow-on study.

The John Hopkins study that found asthma risk isn’t increased in inner cities was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

[Photo Credit: Stuart B]

Asthma Risk Isn’t Increased For Inner Cities