By Bridgette L. Jones, Vincent Staggs, and Brianna Woods-Jaeger, Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, September 17, 2019
African American and Hispanic children are more likely to have a diagnosis of asthma and significantly higher disease related morbidity in comparison to non-Hispanic white children. Mortality rates are likewise higher as African American children are 8 times more likely than non-Hispanic white children to die from asthma 1. The cause of this striking health disparity is not clearly understood. Socioeconomic related risk factors, such as exposure to environmental pollutants and lack of or inadequate access to healthcare and healthcare resources, are more frequently experienced by African American and Hispanic communities. However, socioeconomics has not been able to fully explain observed disparities. Genetic variation is associated with differences in disease pathophysiology and treatment response between racial/ethnic groups. However, race itself as social construct and genetic risk related to race also cannot explain the entirety of observed differences in disease prevalence and outcomes. The contributions to asthma risk and disparities in outcomes are inter-sectional and include various complexities related to being a minoritized group in the United States. Multi-factorial contributions to asthma related health disparities have previously been identified. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and toxic/chronic stressors, such as emotional/physical/sexual abuse, housing instability, financial stress, and experiencing racial discrimination are psychosocial factors that have been associated with asthma in children and adults.
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