Ethnic Disparities in the Burden and Treatment of Asthma
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Authors: The Asthma and Allergy Foundation and the National Pharmaceutical Council
This report, developed in partnership with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, discusses population disparities in the burden of asthma; possible hereditary, environmental, and behavioral causes of these disparities; and ways in which these asthma disparities may be lessened.
In the United States the burden of asthma falls disproportionately on the black and Hispanic—largely Puerto Rican—populations, especially children. Much of this disparity has been attributed to unequal access to preventive care. Black and Puerto Rican children characteristically under-use routine health care services and overuse emergency care services for asthma.