Asthma disparities are commonly experienced by racial/ethnic minorities in the United States. This association continues to be examined in medical research. Researchers are attempting to generate a fine-grained analysis of these disparities to better understand their causes and how they manifest in different regions of the country. A study published in the Journal of Asthma analyzed disparities in childhood emergency department visitation rates, using 2013-2015 data from the National Health Interview Survey.
Data from this survey was limited to children ages 2 through 17. Racial/ethnic-related asthma disparities were analyzed for emergency department visits in the past year. Asthma management was also assessed. Multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate model adjusted odds ratios.
The researchers found that asthma prevalence was highest among Puerto Rican children. They also found that emergency department visits were significantly more common among all minority racial/ethnic groups, aside from non-Hispanic “other.” A smaller analysis of the 2013 data found that adjusting management measures did not have any effect, or only had a modest effect on asthma-related emergency department visits.
Years later, U.S. racial/ethnic minorities continue to suffer from asthma disparities. Further analyses are needed to provide researchers and policymakers with more data on the causes of these disparities [1].
Source:
[1] Urquhart, A., & Clarke, P. (2019). US racial/ethnic disparities in childhood asthma emergent health care use: National Health Interview Survey, 2013–2015. Journal of Asthma, 57(5), 510–520. https://doi.org/10.1080/02770903.2019.1590588