Study finds higher asthma rates among Black and Hispanic children regardless of neighborhood income or density

A new, large study found that although there is a correlation between childhood asthma and being born into a densely populated or lower-income neighborhood, Black and Hispanic children had consistently higher rates of asthma than white children even in more affluent neighborhoods.

The research, which was conducted as part of a multi-institutional collaboration led by James Gern, MD, professor of pediatrics and medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, included data from 5,809 children born throughout the United States over a span of four decades, providing important insight into how racial and ethnic health inequities may cause children to develop wheezing and asthma. Read the full news release.