{"id":5058935,"date":"2022-11-09T14:24:34","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T19:24:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ctlatinonews.com\/?p=5058935"},"modified":"2022-11-09T14:24:34","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T19:24:34","slug":"race-economics-environment-continue-to-drive-states-asthma-disparities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/2022\/11\/09\/race-economics-environment-continue-to-drive-states-asthma-disparities\/","title":{"rendered":"Race, Economics, Environment Continue To Drive State\u2019s Asthma Disparities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kamyle Dunn used to sleep with her hand resting on her mother\u2019s chest so she could feel it expand and contract and know that her mom hadn\u2019t stopped breathing during the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dunn\u2019s mother, Maria Cotto, has long had severe asthma. Dunn inherited the condition, though she has mostly grown out of it as an adult. Now, Dunn\u2019s 12-year-old son also has severe asthma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople kind of shrug it off as not that big of a deal,\u201d said Dunn, who lives with her family in East Harford. \u201cBut I see what it\u2019s done to my mother, and I see what it\u2019s doing to my son, and what it has done to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Connecticut, 10.6% of children and 10.5% of adults have asthma, according to state data <\/a>from 2019.  According to DataHaven\u2019s 2021 Community Wellbeing survey<\/a>, 12% of adults have asthma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asthma does not impact all people equally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the state of Connecticut, similarly to other states in the country, this condition disproportionately affects minority populations, including African Americans and Hispanics,\u201d said Dr. Mario Perez<\/a>, an assistant professor of medicine at UConn Health who studies asthma disparities and who Cotto sees for her asthma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DataHaven\u2019s survey found that 11% of white, 13% of Black, and 21% of Latino adults have asthma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Economics also seems to play a role. Only 6% of adults in wealthy towns have asthma, while 16% of adults in cities like New Haven, Waterbury, Hartford and Bridgeport have the condition. In addition, 19% of adults earning less than $30,000 per year have asthma, compared to only 9% of those earning $100,000 per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cResidents in city centers are typically three to four times more likely to visit the emergency room with an asthma diagnosis than residents of outer suburban areas,\u201d said Mark Abraham, executive director, DataHaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air Quality And Geography<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connecticut has long been known as the \u201ctailpipe of the nation\u201d due to pollution that drifts in from other states. The 2022 State of the Air<\/a> report from the American Lung Association gave every Connecticut county a poor grade for ozone levels. Fairfield, Middlesex, New Haven and New London all received a grade of F, while Tolland and Windham counties received D grades, and Hartford and Litchfield were each given a C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know that environmental factors, particularly factors such as air pollution, can be associated and contribute to the disease and to disease flare,\u201d Perez said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 2009 study <\/a>of New Haven County children recruited from the Yale Asthma Care Center<\/a> found an increased risk of symptoms and inhaler use in children with asthma who had exposure to traffic-related fine particles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, some research has suggested a link between crime and asthma rates, which highlights the need for healthier communities overall. \u201cHaving the sense that your neighborhood is more secure actually decreases the rate of asthma and asthma exacerbations,\u201d Perez says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City Risk Factors And Glimmers Of Hope<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Robert Carmon shows off his basketball skills on the court off Glade Street near his West Haven home. His asthma has improved since he was diagnosed as an infant. [Melanie Stengel Photo.]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Robert Carmon, 11, who recently moved from New Haven to West Haven, developed asthma as an infant and was rushed to the hospital by his parents on a near-weekly basis during the early years of his life. Robert has improved since C-HIT first reported <\/a>on him in 2018, but the condition still impacts his life. He\u2019d like to play on the basketball team at school but can\u2019t because he worries his asthma will flare up. \u201cI can play pickup games as long as I don\u2019t play too hard,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The frequency of his trips to the emergency room has decreased, but he still goes to the hospital about once every month or so, said Robert\u2019s father, Chaz Carmon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stories such as Robert\u2019s are common in Connecticut cities. In recent years they have ranked high in the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America\u2019s annual Asthma Capitals Report<\/a>, but this year saw marked improvement. Hartford moved from 17th worst to 69th on the list, Bridgeport dropped to 85th<\/sup>, from 29th in 2021, while New Haven dropped from 5th to 90th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNew Haven saw the biggest positive jump in rank of all the 100 metropolitan statistical areas that we analyze,\u201d said Hannah Jaffee, a research analyst with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, people shouldn\u2019t read too much into the improved rankings because this year\u2019s list was created based on different data sources than previous years. For example, insurance claims were examined instead of the self-reported surveys used previously. In addition, more localized data was utilized rather than the county-level data used for the report in previous years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even still, Jaffee said, the three most populous counties have seen some improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we do look at the county-level data that we previously used asthma prevalence rates for Fairfield, Hartford and New Haven county, they\u2019ve all declined over the past five years,\u201d she said. The death rate has also generally declined in those three counties over the past 20 years, Jaffee added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Improving Asthma Rates<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proven strategies for reducing asthma incidence and severity include working to ensure all residents have access to culturally competent health care and improving indoor and outdoor air quality for those in cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAsthma triggers can be mitigated through housing quality improvements like better air conditioning filters and education for families about what the triggers might be. If you\u2019re running a gas stove for cooking, and you don\u2019t have good ventilation, it\u2019s producing a lot of air pollution inside.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u2014 Mark Abraham, executive director, DataHaven<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Connecticut Asthma Program<\/a> is a state-run initiative attempting to decrease asthma disparities through partnerships with health care providers while providing education about the condition and expanding access to Connecticut\u2019s asthma home visiting program<\/a>. The state has also promoted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s (CDC) EXHALE framework for asthma management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perez says that the most effective interventions will take place before a patient ever arrives in front of him. \u201cI think we as a society have to address everything from the environmental pollution and climate that we\u2019re creating as humans to improving education and access to health care, but also improving the socio-economic status of the population in general.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the meantime, some say more can be done individually to help those with asthma. For instance, while Robert\u2019s current school allows him to keep his asthma pump on hand, he wasn\u2019t allowed to do that in the past. \u201cThey always said you have to keep your bag in your locker,\u201d he said. That could cause asthma attacks to get out of control before he could get to his pump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His father adds that each school should have a nebulizer in the nurse\u2019s office with staff trained to administer asthma medication. That way, a student \u201ccan be on the nebulizer at least until the parents get there,\u201d Carmon says, and if the nebulizer helps enough, the student might be able to return to class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cotto says it\u2019s important for medical staff to remember that each patient is different. Cotto horrifyingly learned this when she was given epinephrine during an emergency asthma flare. While the medication can be helpful to some patients, it nearly killed her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m allergic to it. When they administered it to me, my heart stopped,\u201d she said. When this happened in 2013, she ended up in a coma for 22 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Cotto\u2019s coma, her asthma worsened, and she could not leave the house without oxygen for many years. In 2014 she began seeing Perez, who took the time to figure out her specific triggers and a treatment plan that worked for her. Though she struggles at times, her asthma is more under control than it has been in years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe tried a whole bunch of different medications and finally found one that works for me,\u201d Cotto says. \u201cI\u2019m actually able to leave the house without oxygen.\u201d  That\u2019s something she hasn\u2019t done for nearly a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find out more about asthma in Connecticut and asthma management in general by visiting the following sites: <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n