Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Current Asthma and Emergency Department Visits: Findings from the National Health Interview Survey, 2001–2010

Details

• Alternative Title:
  J Asthma
• Personal Author:
  Oraka, Emeka ; Iqbal, Shahed ; Flanders, W. Dana ; Brinker, Kimberly ; Garbe, Paul
• Description:
  Objectives
  
  Racial/ethnic disparities in current asthma prevalence and medical care are a major public health concern. We examined the differences in asthma prevalence and morbidity among major racial/ethnic populations in the U.S.
  
  Methods
  
  We analyzed data from the 2001–2010 National Health Interview Survey for adults (≥18 years) and children and adolescents (<18 years). Outcome variables were current asthma prevalence, episodes and emergency department/urgent care center (ED/UCC) visits. We used multivariate logistic regression to calculate model-adjusted prevalence and risk ratios (ARR).
  
  Results
  
  In our study, 9.0% children and 7.2% adults had current asthma. Non-Hispanic black and Puerto Rican children were more likely to have current asthma (ARR 1.46, 1.66 respectively) and ED/UCC visits (ARR 1.61, 1.66, respectively) than non-Hispanic whites. Prevalence of asthma episodes did not differ significantly (P>0.05) among different race/ethnicities after adjusting for covariates. Among adults, Puerto Ricans were more likely to have current asthma (ARR 1.60) than non-Hispanic whites, and Non-Hispanic blacks (ARR 1.78) and Puerto Rican adults (ARR 1.71) reported ED/UCC visits more frequently than non-Hispanic whites. Adults and children who received emergency care for asthma in the past 12 months more frequently received multiple components of asthma management and control (e.g., taking long-term medication, having an asthma management plan) compared to those without emergency care.
  
  Conclusions
  
  Racial/ethnic differences in current asthma prevalence persist among children and adults, but are most prominent among adults with asthma-related ED/UCC visits. Appropriate and effective asthma management and education may lead to better asthma control and reduce emergency care utilization.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Adult Aged Asthma Child Child, Preschool Emergency Service, Hospital Female Health Status Disparities Health Surveys Humans Logistic Models Male Middle Aged Prevalence Time Factors

  More +
• Source:
  J Asthma. 50(5):488-496
• Pubmed ID:
  23544662
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC4566965
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  CC999999/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  50
• Issue:
  5
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:16889a514dfdf25125016db91b0fd20ea3a2bf30422d14c98ca006beafdc8904
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/34216/cdc_34216_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 358.77 KB ]