Socio-demographics and asthma prevalence, management, and outcomes among children 1–11 years of age in California

Abstract

Background Asthma disproportionately affects minority and low-income children. We examined asthma prevalence, management and outcomes, focusing on race/ethnicity and acculturation of parents (particularly English language proficiency). Methods This cross-sectional, correlational analysis used a de-identified population-based survey, the California Health Interview Survey, for years 2001–2015. Survey-weighted analysis with SAS 9.4 was used to determine asthma prevalence among children 1 to 11 years of age. Descriptive analysis was conducted, adjusting for survey design and combination of multiple years of data. The Pearson test, using design-based F values was used to determine statistically significant differences between those having/not having a doctor diagnosis of asthma. Multivariable logistic regression, with jackknife approach to obtain confidence intervals, was used to examine associations of child and parental characteristics with asthma prevalence, management, and outcomes. Results The 61,625 completed surveys represented an estimated annual population of 5.7 million children, of which 12.9 % had asthma. There were significant (p < 0.001) differences by age, gender, race, and language proficiency, with higher asthma prevalence for children 6 to 11 years of age (15.5 %), males (15.3 %), African Americans (19.5 %), and parents speaking English very well (14.1 %). Compared to children whose parents spoke English very well, those whose parents spoke English not well or not at all were less likely to achieve optimal asthma management, i.e. to have received a management plan from doctor (OR 0.30; 95 % Confidence Interval 0.20–0.46)), to be currently taking medication to control asthma (OR 0.52; 95 % CI 0.36–0.74)), or to be not confident in ability to control asthma (OR 3.10; 95 % CI 1.49–6.42). Children whose parents spoke English fairly well rather than very well had worse outcomes, i.e. were more likely to have an emergency room visit in past 12 months (OR 1.92; 95 % CI 1.03–3.61) and were more likely to miss school due to asthma in past 12 months (OR 0.71; 1.01–2.94). Conclusions Socio-demographics had a limited role in explaining differences across a handful of asthma management and outcome measures in California. Parental English language proficiency had the most consistent influence, underscoring the need for culturally and linguistically competent care.

Depression in Childhood Asthma vs. Adult-Onset Asthma: A Cross-Sectional Study from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)

“…This gender-related switch has been explained by many hypothesis like smaller airways in boys compared to girls [ 18 ] and increase in the activities of sex hormones in females starting from puberty [ 19 , 20 ]. AOA, as well as COA, is more prevalent among Whites in our study, which appears to be inconsistent with national data and other literature [ 1 , 21 , 22 ]. Similarly, another national-level study conducted by Keet et al concluded that the Black race and Puerto Rican ethnicity was a risk factor in developing asthma in children and a study done by Holt et al revealed that COA was higher among children of mothers who were Puerto Rican and Black than White (40.4% vs. 23.7% vs. 12.6%) [ 23 , 24 ].…”

Association between IL10 rs1800896 polymorphism and risk of pediatric asthma: A meta‐analysis

“…This differential association underscores the interaction between genetic and nongenetic factors in the development of a disease 30 . Indeed, longitudinal studies have shown that ethnic‐related differences are present in asthma risk and its outcomes 31–33 . Ethnic‐specific analyses may therefore provide insights into the biological mechanisms of pediatric asthma in specific populations.…”

“… 30 Indeed, longitudinal studies have shown that ethnic‐related differences are present in asthma risk and its outcomes. 31 , 32 , 33 Ethnic‐specific analyses may therefore provide insights into the biological mechanisms of pediatric asthma in specific populations. It is known that the A allele of the IL10 rs1800896 polymorphism results in lower mRNA levels of IL‐10 in vitro.…”

Variación geográfica en la prevalencia de asma en niños mexicanos durante la pandemia de la COVID-19

“…Otros estudios han demostrado hallazgos similares. 16 Al respecto, existe evidencia del efecto protector de la testosterona en la respuesta inflamatoria alérgica. [17][18][19] Incluso se ha observado que el género (hombres y mujeres) puede tener participación importante para propiciar un gradiente diferente de exposición a los alérgenos.…”