CURRENT ASTHMA CLINICAL TRIALS.

Asthma is the most common chronic illness among children in the United States, with African Americans and Hispanics being disproportionately affected. The reasons for these disparities may be environmental or biological or both.

One recent study found that the prevalence of asthma in African American and Hispanic adults was twice that of white adults; and the prevalence for African American and Hispanic children was almost 3 times that of whites. [1] When socioeconomic measures were factored in, risk for asthma in African Americans and Hispanics decreased dramatically among both adults and children but remained slightly higher than for whites.

To further elucidate the role of environment and socioeconomic factors on asthma, Kitch et al measured allergen levels (dust mite, cockroach, cat) in households located in high-poverty vs low-poverty areas. Higher poverty households (predominantly Hispanic and African American) had higher levels of cockroach allergen and lower levels of dust mite allergen than did households in low-poverty communities. [2] Rosenstreich et al found that inner-city children were more likely to be allergic to cockroach allergen than to other common allergens (dust mites and cat dander), and that over half of the households studied showed high levels of this allergen in the dust. [3]

Taken together, these studies demonstrate a critical role of environmental/socioeconomic factors in accounting for racial disparities in asthma prevalence.

Asthma mortality rates also have been observed to be significantly higher among racial minorities than whites, [4] and biological factors may contribute. For example, in one study, African American children were more reactive to methacholine and had significantly higher total IgE levels than did white children. In whites, serum IgE was related to methacholine reactivity, but not in African Americans. These differences persisted after adjustment for parental education, parental smoking, and other environmental factors. [5] Another factor that could contribute to increased mortality among minorities is suboptimal pharmacotherapy and a high reliance on episodic and emergency care, rather than preventive measures, among inner-city African Americans. [6]

Following is a listing of current clinical trials of new treatments for asthma.

How Do Allergy Shots Work?