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
. 2017 Mar 31;14(4):362.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph14040362.

Proximity to Industrial Food Animal Production and Asthma Exacerbations in Pennsylvania, 2005-2012

Sara G Rasmussen  1 , Joan A Casey  2 , Karen Bandeen-Roche  3 , Brian S Schwartz  4   5   6
Affiliations

Proximity to Industrial Food Animal Production and Asthma Exacerbations in Pennsylvania, 2005-2012

Sara G Rasmussen et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The research on industrial food animal production (IFAP) and asthma exacerbations in the United States has relied on small sample sizes and/or self-reported outcomes. We assessed associations of proximity to large-scale and densely stocked swine and dairy/veal IFAP with three types of asthma exacerbations: hospitalizations, emergency encounters, and oral corticosteroid (OCS) medication orders from Geisinger Clinic in Pennsylvania. We used a diagnosis code (International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification code 493.x) and medication orders from electronic health records to identify these exacerbations among asthma patients (n = 35,269) from 2005-2012. We compared residential proximity to swine or dairy/veal IFAP (dichotomized as <3 miles (4.8 km) or ≥3 miles) among asthma patients with and without exacerbations and estimated odds ratios using multilevel logistic regression. In adjusted models, proximity to IFAP was associated (odds ratio (95% confidence interval)) with OCS orders (1.11 (1.04-1.19)) and hospitalizations (1.29 (1.15-1.46)), but not emergency encounters (1.12 (0.91-1.37)). This study contributes to growing evidence that IFAP may impact health, in this case clinically-documented asthma exacerbations. No prior study has evaluated the association of IFAP and clinically-documented asthma exacerbations in the United States.

Keywords: asthma; asthma exacerbation; concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The founding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The location of swine and dairy/veal industrial food animal production facilities and the residential location of Geisinger Clinic asthma patients.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Casey J.A., Kim B.F., Larsen J., Price L.B., Nachman K.E. Industrial food animal production and community health. Curr. Environ. Health Rep. 2015;2:259–271. doi: 10.1007/s40572-015-0061-0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. National Asthma Education Program. Expert Panel on the Management of Asthma . Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma: Full Report. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Bethesda, MD, USA: 2007.
    1. Moorman J.E., Akinbami L.J., Bailey C.M., Johnson C.A., King M.E., Liu X., Zahran H.S. National surveillance of asthma: United States, 2001–2010. Vital Health Stat. Ser. Anal. Epidemiol. Stud. 2012;35:1–58. - PubMed
    1. Casey J.A., Curriero F.C., Cosgrove S.E., Nachman K.E., Schwartz B.S. High-Density livestock operations, crop field application of manure, and risk of Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus infection in Pennsylvania. JAMA Intern. Med. 2013;173:1980–1990. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.10408. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Loftus C., Yost M., Sampson P., Torres E., Arias G., Breckwich Vasquez V., Hartin K., Armstrong J., Tchong-French M., Vedal S., et al. Ambient ammonia exposures in an agricultural community and pediatric asthma morbidity. Epidemiology. 2015;26:794–801. doi: 10.1097/EDE.0000000000000368. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms

Substances