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African Americans Reported Five Times More Likely to Die of Asthma
Ethnic disparities in asthma statistics are described in the February, 2006 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI).
Asthma mortality, prevalence, genetic factors, social factors and the public health response are addressed in this series of articles.
One article, The widening Black/White gap in asthma hospitalizations and mortality by Gupta, et al, reported:
- A 50% increase in the Black/White ratio for asthma hospitalizations in children ages 5 to 18 years, occuring from 1980 through 2002
- A large increase in the Black/White mortality rate difference, from 5.6 to 8.1 deaths per 1,000,000 population, for children ages 5 to 19 years from 1980 through 2001
The JACI requires a subscription for access to many of its full-text articles; it does offer free abstracts for each article, form which the figures above were obtained:
The current asthma disparities articles were reviewed in a Newswise news article, which also summarized:
- Asthma prevalence is highest for Puerto Rican Americans (13.1%), followed by Native Americans (9.9%) and non-Hispanic blacks (9.5%).
- Asthma mortality for whites increased from the 1980-1984 time period to 2000-2001 time period from 2.1 to 2.6 deaths per 1,000,000 population; during the same time, the mortality rate for African Americans increased from 9.9 to 13.2 deaths per 1,000,000 population.
The article is available at:
http://www.newswise.com/p/articles/view/517942/
The JACI is the peer-reviewed, scientific journal of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI). The AAAI website features asthma resources for consumers and professionals:
