The association between cotton and prevalence of rural childhood asthma.

In the United States, asthma now ranks as the most prevalent chronic disease among children. Within rural cotton-producing regions, a popular belief is that cotton production increases the prevalence of asthma. This case-control study was conducted to determine if the prevalence of asthma is higher in children living in rural cotton-producing countries than in children where cotton production is negligible. No evidence was found to support the belief that cotton production increases the rural childhood prevalence of asthma (P = .12). More importantly, this study did reveal a significantly higher prevalence of asthma among the fifth graders in rural West Texas than the prevalence predicted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (P < .0001).