Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2015 Sep;136(3):595-600.e3.
doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2015.02.007. Epub 2015 Mar 29.

Comparison of asthma prevalence among African American teenage youth attending public high schools in rural Georgia and urban Detroit

Dennis R Ownby  1 , Martha S Tingen  2 , Suzanne Havstad  3 , Jennifer L Waller  4 , Christine C Johnson  3 , Christine L M Joseph  3
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Comparison of asthma prevalence among African American teenage youth attending public high schools in rural Georgia and urban Detroit

Dennis R Ownby et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2015 Sep.

Abstract

Background: The high prevalence of asthma among urban African American (AA) populations has attracted research attention, whereas the prevalence among rural AA populations is poorly documented.

Objective: We sought to compare the prevalence of asthma among AA youth in rural Georgia and urban Detroit, Michigan.

Methods: The prevalence of asthma was compared in population-based samples of 7297 youth attending Detroit public high schools and in 2523 youth attending public high schools in rural Georgia. Current asthma was defined as a physician diagnosis and symptoms in the previous 12 months. Undiagnosed asthma was defined as multiple respiratory symptoms in the previous 12 months without a physician diagnosis.

Results: In Detroit, 6994 (95.8%) youth were AA compared with 1514 (60.0%) in Georgia. Average population density in high school postal codes was 5628 people/mile(2) in Detroit and 45.1 people/mile(2) in Georgia. The percentages of poverty and of students qualifying for free or reduced lunches were similar in both areas. The prevalence of current diagnosed asthma among AA youth in Detroit and Georgia was similar: 15.0% (95% CI, 14.1-15.8) and 13.7% (95% CI, 12.0-17.1) (P = .22), respectively. The prevalence of undiagnosed asthma in AA youth was 8.0% in Detroit and 7.5% in Georgia (P = .56). Asthma symptoms were reported more frequently among those with diagnosed asthma in Detroit, whereas those with undiagnosed asthma in Georgia reported more symptoms.

Conclusions: Among AA youth living in similar socioeconomic circumstances, asthma prevalence is as high in rural Georgia as it is in urban Detroit, suggesting that urban residence is not an asthma risk factor.

Keywords: African American; Urban; asthma; high school students; inner-city; prevalence; rural; youth.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic of criteria for classifying subjects as having current diagnosed or current undiagnosed asthma.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Busse WW. The National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases networks on asthma in inner-city children: an approach to improved care. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2010;125:529–537. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Breysse PN, Diette GB, Matsui EC, Butz AM, Hansel NN, McCormack MC. Indoor air pollution and asthma in children. Proc Am Thorac Soc. 2010;7:102–106. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Byrd RS, Joad JP. Urban asthma. Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2006;12:68–74. - PubMed
    1. Weiss KB, Gergen PJ, Crain EF. Inner-city asthma. The epidemiology of an emerging US public health concern. Chest. 1992;101:362S–367S. - PubMed
    1. Togias A, Fenton MJ, Gergen PJ, Rotrosen D, Fauci AS. Asthma in the inner city: the perspective of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2010;125:540–544. - PubMed

Publication types