Puerto Rican and African-American children with asthma may be at risk for multiple indoor and outdoor allergies, says a study published in the January issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians. The study found that Puerto Rican children with asthma were up to three times more likely to be allergic to indoor and outdoor allergens than white children with asthma. The study also found that African American children with asthma were two to three times more likely to have allergic reactions to outdoor allergens.

"Asthma is a significant public health problem among Puerto Ricans, but the extent to which this population is affected by allergies is not completely understood," said the study's lead author Juan C. Celedn, MD, DrPH, FCCP, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA. "Puerto Rican and African-American children are more likely to live in poor housing conditions and, consequently, have an increased risk of exposure to certain allergens. Not knowing a child is allergic to certain allergens may result in the child being continuously exposed to these allergens, which can ultimately make asthma management more difficult."

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, CT, and University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, examined the relationship between ethnicity, geographic residence and living conditions, and asthma severity on the prevalence and extent of indoor and outdoor allergens among children with mild to severe asthma living in Hartford, CT. Of the 791 children, ages 4-18, included in the study, 346 (43.7 percent) were white, 312 (39.5 percent) were Puerto Rican, 113 (14.3 percent) were African-American, and 20 (2.5 percent) belonged to other ethnic groups. Using a standard allergy skin test, children were monitored for skin test reactivity to indoor allergens (ie, cockroach, cat and dog dander, and dust mite
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Contact: Jennifer Stawarz
jstawarz@chestnet.org
847-498-8306
American College of Chest Physicians
12-Jan-2004

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