The city-countryside disparities in terms of asthma are history. According to a study, city life does not increase risk, whereas ethnicity and income do.
Asthma, a disease of cities? This is an idea often put forward, but a misconception. This is what a study by the Johns-Hopkins School of Medicine (Baltimore, Maryland, United States) carried out on 23,000 children confirms. Published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (subscribers link), she concludes that ethnic or geographical origin influences the risk of asthma more than living in the city or in the countryside.
Underprivileged African Americans and Puerto Ricans
Scientists compared the rates of children with asthma in large cities, suburbs and rural areas. The results show that 13% of city dwellers had asthma, compared to 11% in the suburbs and the countryside. But this small gap disappears when researchers include variables such as ethnicity, parental income or geographic origin. Thus, in the urban areas of the North-East of the United States, 17% of the children are asthma against 8% in the cities of the West of the country.
“This suggests that living in an urban area is not, in itself, a risk factor for asthma,” concludes Dr Corinne Keet, researcher in charge of the project. “In contrast, we observe that poverty or being African American or Puerto Rican are stronger predictors of asthma risk. The risk of hospitalization after an asthma attack is highest in households living below the poverty line. Asthma is also more prevalent among African Americans (17%) and Puerto Ricans (20%) than among whites (10%), other Hispanics (9%) and Asians (8%).
Changing demographics
The idea that urban life is linked to asthma is based on convincing arguments: pollution, the presence of cockroaches and other allergenic insects … But the fundamental changes in society have distorted the picture, underline the authors of the study. Poverty is increasingly present in the suburbs and the countryside, as ethnic minorities migrate out of the cities.
“Our results suggest that by focusing on city centers, which are said to be the epicenters of asthma, risks pushing doctors and public health experts to overlook emerging ‘hot spots’ with high rates of asthma. asthma, ”summarizes Elizabeth Matsui, senior author of the study.
.
