The aims of this study were to investigate the baseline prevalence of and risk factors associated with asthma, classify asthma severity, and describe medication use in a population-based sample of African American men and women 21 to 84 years of age from the Jackson Heart Study (JHS). Participants provided responses to respiratory and medical history questions and a medication inventory and underwent spirometry and other clinical examinations. These data were used to examine the extent to which novel and traditional risk factors were associated with asthma. Of the 4,098 participants included in this analysis, 9.4% reported lifetime asthma (5.7% current, 3.7% former), and current asthma was higher in women (6.8%) than in men (3.8%). An additional 9.8% reported an attack of wheeze with shortness of breath or non-doctor confirmed asthma (i.e., "probable" asthma). The mean forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV(1))% predicted was lower in those reporting current asthma (women: 83.7 +/- 18.0; men: 75.2 +/- 16.8) compared to those not reporting asthma (women: 95.6 +/- 16.7; men: 91.7 +/- 16.0). Current and probable asthma was associated with lower serum cortisol levels and hypertension medication use, along with traditional risk factors (i.e., lower socio-economic status, higher global stress scores, obesity, and fair to poor perceived general health). Severe asthma was low among participants reporting current (9.8%), former (3.3%), and probable (4.9%) asthma. Asthma medication use was reported by nearly 60% of the participants reporting current asthma. Asthma in African American adults is associated with decreased serum cortisol, hypertension medication use, and considerable lung function impairment compared to those who did not report asthma. The prevalence of asthma in the JHS is lower than state and national estimates, although the estimates are not directly comparable. Furthermore, asthma is drastically underdiagnosed in this population.
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Front Allergy
January 2025
Department of Medicine, Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States.
Food allergy poses substantial social, economic, and quality of life burdens which are even heavier for families that are struggling with food insecurity. In the United States (US), food insecurity disproportionately affects vulnerable and historically marginalized communities, such as Latino/a/x and Black households. Targeting these disparities via our recent Food Equality Initiative (FEI) research intervention was challenging due to the barriers faced by the target underserved populations, which included poor digital literacy, language barriers, and limited access to necessary resources.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Med (Lausanne)
January 2025
Hospital Universitario de Gran Canaria Dr. Negrín, Respiratory Service, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
Eosinophils are polymorphonuclear cells that have progressively gained attention due to their involvement in multiple diseases and, more recently, in various homeostatic processes. Their well-known roles range from asthma and parasitic infections to less prevalent diseases such as eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, eosinophilic esophagitis, and hypereosinophilic syndrome. In recent years, various biological therapies targeting these cells have been developed, altering the course of eosinophilic pathologies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJACC Case Rep
January 2025
Division of Cardiology, Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta.
A 42-year-old man experienced recurrent coronary artery spasm (CAS) secondary to eosinophilic asthma despite being on multiple medications. He underwent a successful unilateral stellate ganglion block followed by bilateral thoracoscopic sympathectomy, with no subsequent recurrence of CAS. These invasive therapies offer a potential treatment option for refractory CAS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Endocrinol (Lausanne)
January 2025
Department of Orthopedics Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Background: Mendelian randomization is believed to attenuate the biases inherent in observational studies, yet a meta-analysis of Mendelian randomization studies in osteoporosis has not been conducted thus far. This study aims to evaluate the connection between potential causal factors and the risk of osteoporosis by synthesizing evidence from Mendelian randomization studies.
Methods: The databases PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase were systematically searched for Mendelian randomization studies investigating factors influencing osteoporosis up to May 2024.
World Allergy Organ J
January 2025
Allergy & Asthma Solutions, Coto de Caza, CA, USA.
Unlabelled: Some double-blind, placebo-controlled trials have shown that Azelastine (Aze) high dose (0.15%) was effective in seasonal (SAR) and perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR). However, there was no long-term comparison between Aze 0.
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