The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Volume 123, Issue 6 , Pages 1297-1304.e2 , June 2009

The protective effect of community factors on childhood asthma

  • Ruchi S. Gupta, MD, MPH

      Affiliations

    • Institute for Healthcare Studies, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Ill
    • Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Ill
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: Ruchi S. Gupta, Children's Memorial Hospital, 2300 Children's Plaza, Box 157, Chicago, IL 60614.
    • ,
  • Xingyou Zhang, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Robert Graham Center: Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care, American Academy of Family Physicians, Washington, DC
    • ,
  • Lisa K. Sharp, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Medicine, Section on Health Promotion, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Ill
    • ,
  • John J. Shannon, MD

      Affiliations

    • Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Cook County Hospital, Chicago, Ill
    • ,
  • Kevin B. Weiss, MD, MPH

      Affiliations

    • Institute for Healthcare Studies, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Ill
    • Division of General Internal Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Ill
    • Center for the Management of Complex Chronic Care, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Edward Hines, Jr VA Hospital, Hines, Ill

Received 22 April 2008 ,Revised 26 March 2009 ,Accepted 30 March 2009.

References 

  1. Akinbami LJ, Schoendorf KC. Trends in childhood asthma: prevalence, health care utilization, and mortality. Pediatrics. 2002;110:315–322
  2. Akinbami L. The state of childhood asthma, United States, 1980-2005. Adv Data No. 381. 2006;1–24
  3. Byrd RS, Joad JP. Urban asthma. Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2006;12:68–74
  4. Migliaretti G, Cavallo F. Urban air pollution and asthma in children. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2004;38:198–203
  5. Grant EN, Malone A, Lyttle CS, Weiss KB. Asthma morbidity and treatment in the Chicago metropolitan area: one decade after national guidelines. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2005;95:19–25
  6. Mannino DM, Homa DM, Akinbami LJ, Moorman JE, Gwynn C, Redd SC. Surveillance for asthma—United States, 1980-1999. MMWR Surveill Summ. 2002;51:1–13
  7. Weiss KB, Wagener DK. Changing patterns of asthma mortality: identifying target populations at high risk. JAMA. 1990;264:1683–1687
  8. Thomas SD, Whitman S. Asthma hospitalizations and mortality in Chicago: an epidemiologic overview. Chest. 1999;116:135S–141S
  9. Gupta RS, Zhang X, Sharp LK, Shannon JJ, Weiss KB. Geographic variability in childhood asthma prevalence in Chicago. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2008;121:639–645
  10. Marder D, Targonski P, Orris P, Persky V, Addington W. Effect of racial and socioeconomic factors on asthma mortality in Chicago. Chest. 1992;101:426S–429S
  11. Crain EF, Walter M, O'Connor GT, Mitchell H, Gruchalla RS, Kattan M, et al. Home and allergic characteristics of children with asthma in seven U.S. urban communities and design of an environmental intervention: the Inner-City Asthma Study. Environ Health Perspect. 2002;110:939–945
  12. Schwartz J. Air pollution and children's health. Pediatrics. 2004;113:1037–1043
  13. Gauderman WJ, Avol E, Lurmann F, Kuenzli N, Gilliland F, Peters J, et al. Childhood asthma and exposure to traffic and nitrogen dioxide. Epidemiology. 2005;16:737–743
  14. Swahn MH, Bossarte RM. The associations between victimization, feeling unsafe, and asthma episodes among US high-school students. Am J Public Health. 2006;96:802–804
  15. Wright RJ, Mitchell H, Visness CM, Cohen S, Stout J, Evans R, et al. Community violence and asthma morbidity: the Inner-City Asthma Study. Am J Public Health. 2004;94:625–632
  16. Cagney KA, Browning CR. Exploring neighborhood-level variation in asthma and other respiratory diseases: the contribution of neighborhood social context. J Gen Intern Med. 2004;19:229–236
  17. Shalowitz MU, Sadowski LM, Kumar R, Weiss KB, Shannon JJ. Asthma burden in a citywide, diverse sample of elementary schoolchildren in Chicago. Ambul Pediatr. 2007;7:271–277
  18. Wolf RL, Berry CA, Quinn K. Development and validation of a brief pediatric screen for asthma and allergies among children. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2003;90:500–507
  19. Berry CA, Quinn K, Wolf R, Mosnaim G, Shalowitz M. Validation of the Spanish and English versions of the asthma portion of the Brief Pediatric Asthma Screen Plus among Hispanics. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2005;95:53–60
  20. Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research. Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan; 2007;
  21. Ottenbacher KJ. Quantitative evaluation of multiplicity in epidemiology and public health research. Am J Epidemiol. 1998;147:615–619
  22. Farcomeni A. A review of modern multiple hypothesis testing, with particular attention to the false discovery proportion. Stat Methods Med Res. 2008;17:347–388
  23. Wainwright NW, Surtees PG, Wareham NJ, Harrison BD. Psychosocial factors and incident asthma hospital admissions in the EPIC-Norfolk cohort study. Allergy. 2007;62:554–560
  24. Weil CM, Wade SL, Bauman LJ, Lynn H, Mitchell H, Lavigne J. The relationship between psychosocial factors and asthma morbidity in inner-city children with asthma. Pediatrics. 1999;104:1274–1280
  25. Baxter LK, Clougherty JE, Laden F, Levy JI. Predictors of concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, fine particulate matter, and particle constituents inside of lower socioeconomic status urban homes. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2007;17:433–444
  26. Almqvist C, Pershagen G, Wickman M. Low socioeconomic status as a risk factor for asthma, rhinitis and sensitization at 4 years in a birth cohort. Clin Exp Allergy. 2005;35:612–618
  27. Peters JL, Levy JI, Rogers CA, Burge HA, Spengler JD. Determinants of allergen concentrations in apartments of asthmatic children living in public housing. J Urban Health. 2007;84:185–197
  28. Rauh VA, Chew GR, Garfinkel RS. Deteriorated housing contributes to high cockroach allergen levels in inner-city households. Environ Health Perspect. 2002;110(Suppl 2):323–327
  29. Peterson JW, Lachance LL, Butterfoss FD, Houle CR, Nicholas EA, Gilmore LA, et al. Engaging the community in coalition efforts to address childhood asthma. Health Promot Pract. 2006;7:56S–65S
  30. Miller JE. The effects of race/ethnicity and income on early childhood asthma prevalence and health care use. Am J Public Health. 2000;90:428–430
  31. Grant EN, Lyttle CS, Weiss KB. The relation of socioeconomic factors and racial/ethnic differences in US asthma mortality. Am J Public Health. 2000;90:1923–1925
  32. Halfon N, Newacheck PW. Childhood asthma and poverty: differential impacts and utilization of health services. Pediatrics. 1993;91:56–61
  33. Davidson AE, Klein DE, Settipane GA, Alario AJ. Access to care among children visiting the emergency room with acute exacerbations of asthma. Ann Allergy. 1994;72:469–473
  34. Crain EF, Kercsmar C, Weiss KB, Mitchell H, Lynn H. Reported difficulties in access to quality care for children with asthma in the inner city. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1998;152:333–339
  35. Tatum AJ, Shapiro GG. The effects of outdoor air pollution and tobacco smoke on asthma. Immunol Allergy Clin North Am. 2005;25:15–30
  36. Gauderman WJ, Avol E, Gilliland F, Vora H, Thomas D, Berhane K, et al. The effect of air pollution on lung development from 10 to 18 years of age. N Engl J Med. 2004;351:1057–1067
  37. Gruchalla RS, Pongracic J, Plaut M, Evans R, Visness CM, Walter M, et al. Inner City Asthma Study: relationships among sensitivity, allergen exposure, and asthma morbidity. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2005;115:478–485
  38. Litonjua AA, Carey VJ, Burge HA, Weiss ST, Gold DR. Exposure to cockroach allergen in the home is associated with incident doctor-diagnosed asthma and recurrent wheezing. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2001;107:41–47
  39. Morgan WJ, Crain EF, Gruchalla RS, O'Connor GT, Kattan M, Evans R, et al. Results of a home-based environmental intervention among urban children with asthma. N Engl J Med. 2004;351:1068–1080
  40. Lau S, Illi S, Sommerfeld C, Niggemann B, Bergmann R, von Mutius E, et al. Early exposure to house-dust mite and cat allergens and development of childhood asthma: a cohort study. Multicentre Allergy Study Group. Lancet. 2000;356:1392–1397
  41. Eder W, Ege MJ, von Mutius E. The asthma epidemic. N Engl J Med. 2006;355:2226–2235
  42. Matsui EC, Wood RA, Rand C, Kanchanaraksa S, Swartz L, Eggleston PA. Mouse allergen exposure and mouse skin test sensitivity in suburban, middle-class children with asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2004;113:910–915
  43. Perry T, Matsui E, Merriman B, Duong T, Eggleston P. The prevalence of rat allergen in inner-city homes and its relationship to sensitization and asthma morbidity. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2003;112:346–352
  44. Braun-Fahrlander C, Riedler J, Herz U, Eder W, Waser M, Grize L, et al. Environmental exposure to endotoxin and its relation to asthma in school-age children. N Engl J Med. 2002;347:869–877
  45. Weiss ST. Eat dirt—the hygiene hypothesis and allergic diseases. N Engl J Med. 2002;347:930–931
  46. Strachan DP. Family size, infection and atopy: the first decade of the “hygiene hypothesis.”. Thorax. 2000;55(Suppl 1):S2–S10
  47. Cesaroni G, Farchi S, Davoli M, Forastiere F, Perucci CA. Individual and area-based indicators of socioeconomic status and childhood asthma. Eur Respir J. 2003;22:619–624
  48. Wright RJ, Steinbach SF. Violence: an unrecognized environmental exposure that may contribute to greater asthma morbidity in high risk inner-city populations. Environ Health Perspect. 2001;109:1085–1089
  49. Debley JS, Redding GJ, Critchlow CW. Impact of adolescence and gender on asthma hospitalization: a population-based birth cohort study. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2004;38:443–450
  50. Fagan JK, Scheff PA, Hryhorczuk D, Ramakrishnan V, Ross M, Persky V. Prevalence of asthma and other allergic diseases in an adolescent population: association with gender and race. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2001;86:177–184
  51. Persky VW, Slezak J, Contreras A, Becker L, Hernandez E, Ramakrishnan V, et al. Relationships of race and socioeconomic status with prevalence, severity, and symptoms of asthma in Chicago school children. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 1998;81:266–271
  52. Bener A, Janahi IA, Sabbah A. Genetics and environmental risk factors associated with asthma in schoolchildren. Allerg Immunol (Paris). 2005;37:163–168
  53. Gilmour MI, Jaakkola MS, London SJ, Nel AE, Rogers CA. How exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, outdoor air pollutants, and increased pollen burdens influences the incidence of asthma. Environ Health Perspect. 2006;114:627–633
  54. Cook DG, Strachan DP. Health effects of passive smoking, 3: parental smoking and prevalence of respiratory symptoms and asthma in school age children. Thorax. 1997;52:1081–1094
  55. Black PN, Sharpe S. Dietary fat and asthma: is there a connection?. Eur Respir J. 1997;10:6–12
  56. Mihrshahi S, Peat JK, Marks GB, Mellis CM, Tovey ER, Webb K, et al. Eighteen-month outcomes of house dust mite avoidance and dietary fatty acid modification in the Childhood Asthma Prevention Study (CAPS). J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2003;111:162–168
  57. Wright RJ, Cohen S, Carey V, Weiss ST, Gold DR. Parental stress as a predictor of wheezing in infancy: a prospective birth-cohort study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2002;165:358–365
  58. Wright RJ, Rodriguez M, Cohen S. Review of psychosocial stress and asthma: an integrated biopsychosocial approach. Thorax. 1998;53:1066–1074
  59. Gupta RS, Carrion-Carire V, Weiss KB. The widening black/white gap in asthma hospitalizations and mortality. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2006;117:351–358

 Supported by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute grant 5U01 HL072478-05 and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development grant K12 HD052902.

 Disclosure of potential conflict of interest: J. J. Shannon has received research support from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The rest of the authors have declared that they have no conflict of interest.

PII: S0091-6749(09)00549-1

doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2009.03.039

The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Volume 123, Issue 6 , Pages 1297-1304.e2 , June 2009

Article Tools

* Image Usage & Resolution