Asthma is a chronic lung disease that affects the airways (Sockrider & Fussner, 2020). As of 2011, about 8% of the United States population, 25 million, suffers from asthma (CDC, 2011). In 2012, 10.7% of Dallas County adults had asthma (Healthy North Texas, 2012). The two main issues caused by asthma are inflammation and bronchospasms of and around the airways (Sockrider & Fussner, 2020). There are several environmental factors that can trigger asthma-like pollen, weather changes, air pollution (ozone), chemicals (pest control, paint or cleaning products), and smoke from cigarettes (Sockrider & Fussner, 2020).
In Dallas, there are several factors that affect air quality. In 2019, Dallas, Texas failed to meet the air quality nationally mandated according to WHO (Air Quality Index, 2022). This issue can be due to the number of cars in Dallas, the multiple industries with loopholes to the current restriction levels, and the overall mismanagement of environmental health (A., 2021).
Some of the causes of asthma include severe respiratory infections like RSV. There have been animal studies that suggest that RSV and other respiratory viruses increase the risk of acquiring asthma (Edwards et al., 2012). Environmental factors in addition to respiratory infections can increase the risk of getting asthma.
Due to the environmental factors that contribute to asthma, in low-income communities, what is one way to prevent this?
References:
A., R. (2021, March 10). Air pollution in Dallas: Why Air Quality in Dallas so bad? Green Leaf Air. Retrieved July 24, 2022, from https://greenleafair.com/air-pollution-in-dallas-why-air-quality-in-dallas-so-bad/
Air Quality Index. (2022). Dallas Air Quality Index (AQI) and Texas Air Pollution. IQAir. Retrieved July 24, 2022, from https://www.iqair.com/us/usa/texas/dallas
CDC. (2011, May 3). Asthma in the US. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved July 24, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/asthma/index.html
Edwards, M. R., Bartlett, N. W., Hussell, T., Openshaw, P., & Johnston, S. L. (2012, June 6). The Microbiology of Asthma. Nature News. Retrieved July 24, 2022, from https://www.nature.com/articles/nrmicro2801
Healthy North Texas. (2012). Healthy North Texas. Healthy North Texas :: Indicators :: Adults with Asthma :: County : Dallas. Retrieved July 24, 2022, from https://www.healthyntexas.org/indicators/index/view?indicatorId=78&localeId=2631
Sockrider, M., & Fussner, L. (2020, November 1). What is Asthma? American Journal of respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Retrieved July 24, 2022, from https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1164/rccm.2029P25
Hello, Sophia
ReplyDeleteGrowing up both of my siblings actually had asthma. They both actually need asthma inhalers as they were both athletic, one ran cross country and the other did wrestling. As time flew by, I know that it kind of just disappeared. Which I thought was crazy, considering that I didn’t get it but they did; I’m the oldest. I know growing up, one of my parents actually did smoke cigarettes so it makes me wonder if they got triggered by that. I’m sure other factors such as ozone layers, and pollen could have also triggered it. I think it can be hard in cities to help with controlling the pollution and air quality. So many cars and so many people in such a tight place makes it hard. I know one of the ways to minimize contact with asthma is to know what triggers you. Was it because I was near cigarettes or was it because I was vacuuming? By knowing the source, we can help reduce episodes. I know that using asthma medicines like inhalers can help. I know it's hard to get those to low-income communities, but maybe we can have some time for interventions in regards to that. I would of like to see some graphs to help visualize asthma in Dallas county.
Thanks for your response Linda. I also had asthma growing up. I wasn't exposed to smoke even but like you said there are several factors that can lead to this. I was also athletic growing up and spent my days running around needing my inhaler. A great program for children learning to manage their asthma is Children's Asthma camp. My brother and I attended every year and this truly helped up learn to manage it ourselves so we were always struggling to breathe. They helped up recognize our triggers and ways to prevent attacks!
DeleteI will definitely include graphs next time, I was having difficulty getting them to upload.
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ReplyDeleteHello Sophia,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post! It's no surprise Dallas has an issue with asthma, considering the air quality and the evidence showing that urbanized areas have worse asthma rates than rural areas. (Rodriguez, 2019). Another factor increasing an individual's risk for asthma is income and environmental factors. Living in poverty can worsen health outcomes, and access to healthcare is always an issue. Fortunately, there are ways to combat asthma, and people can benefit from diet and exercise in reducing the risk. In addition, low-income communities can manage asthma by reducing the causes of poorly controlled asthma, such as limiting secondhand smoke, rodents, mold, and dust mites (Bellin, 2018). Finally, good school nurses for children can be an excellent help for low-income children and provide them with the quality care they need and manage triggers. Any little bit of help is vital in managing something like asthma and what's most important is that communities utilize any resources offered to them to improve health outcomes.
Bellin, M. H., Newsome, A., Lewis-Land, C., Kub, J., Mudd, S. S., Margolis, R., & Butz, A. M. (2018). Improving Care of Inner-City Children with Poorly Controlled Asthma: What Mothers Want You to Know. Journal of pediatric health care: official publication of National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates & Practitioners, 32(4), 387–398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedhc.2017.12.009
Rodriguez, A., Brickley, E., Rodrigues, L., Normansell, R. A., Barreto, M., & Cooper, P. J. (2019). Urbanisation and asthma in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review of the urban-rural differences in asthma prevalence. Thorax, 74(11), 1020–1030. https://doi.org/10.1136/thoraxjnl-2018-211793
It would be interesting to know how asthma rates have increased given the number of motorists since that is a major factor in air quality
ReplyDelete