Mouse Sensitization and Exposure Are Associated with Asthma Severity in Urban Children.

Background: Mouse sensitization and exposure are associated with uncontrolled asthma, but whether they are associated with asthma severity, an intrinsic disease characteristic and long-term outcome predictor, is unclear.

Objective: To examine relationships between mouse sensitization and/or exposure and asthma severity in urban children.

Methods: A total of 645 children (5-17 years) with uncontrolled asthma underwent mouse sensitization evaluation.

Respiratory Effects of Indoor Heat and the Interaction with Air Pollution in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Rationale: There is limited evidence of the effect of exposure to heat on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) morbidity, and the interactive effect between indoor heat and air pollution has not been established.

Objectives: To determine the effect of indoor and outdoor heat exposure on COPD morbidity and to determine whether air pollution concentrations modify the effect of temperature.

Methods: Sixty-nine participants with COPD were enrolled in a longitudinal cohort study, and data from the 601 participant days that occurred during the warm weather season were included in the analysis.

Indoor pollutant exposures modify the effect of airborne endotoxin on asthma in urban children.

Rationale: The effect of endotoxin on asthma morbidity in urban populations is unclear.

Objectives: To determine if indoor pollutant exposure modifies the relationships between indoor airborne endotoxin and asthma health and morbidity.

Methods: One hundred forty-six children and adolescents with persistent asthma underwent repeated clinical assessments at 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.

Mouse allergen is the major allergen of public health relevance in Baltimore City.

Background: Cockroach and mouse allergens have both been implicated as causes in inner-city asthma morbidity in multicenter studies, but whether both allergens are clinically relevant within specific inner-city communities is unclear.

Objective: Our study aimed to identify relevant allergens in Baltimore City.

Methods: One hundred forty-four children (5-17 years old) with asthma underwent skin prick tests at baseline and had clinical data collected at baseline and 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.

Guideline-recommended fractional exhaled nitric oxide is a poor predictor of health-care use among inner-city children and adolescents receiving usual asthma care.

Background: American Thoracic Society guidelines support using fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) measurements in patients with asthma and highlight gaps in the evidence base. Little is known about the use of FENO levels to predict asthma exacerbations among high-risk, urban, minority populations receiving usual care.

Methods: Children with persistent asthma (n = 138) were enrolled in a prospective, observational cohort study and skin tested at baseline (a wheal ≥ 3 mm indicated a positive skin-prick test).

In-home air pollution is linked to respiratory morbidity in former smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Rationale: The effect of indoor air pollutants on respiratory morbidity among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in developed countries is uncertain.

Objectives: The first longitudinal study to investigate the independent effects of indoor particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) concentrations on COPD morbidity in a periurban community.

Methods: Former smokers with COPD were recruited and indoor air was monitored over a 1-week period in the participant's bedroom and main living area at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months.

Being overweight increases susceptibility to indoor pollutants among urban children with asthma.

Background: Both being overweight and exposure to indoor pollutants, which have been associated with worse health of asthmatic patients, are common in urban minority populations. Whether being overweight is a risk factor for the effects of indoor pollutant exposure on asthma health is unknown.

Objectives: We sought to examine the effect of weight on the relationship between indoor pollutant exposure and asthma health in urban minority children.