As this new year begins, we hope you and your families are staying healthy.
COVID-19 continues to bring loss for so many across the United States and the world. The pandemic is also having some rather surprising effects on children with asthma.
New research out of Boston Children’s Hospital shows a significantly decreased incidence of emergency department visits after the COVID-19-related shut-down in 2020 compared to 2018 and 2019.
While the reasons for this significant decrease are unclear, the authors suggest many potential contributors, including more consistent use of medication, improved air quality with more people working from home, and decreased exposure to other viruses because of school and child care closures.
The authors note that their research only looked at data for their own hospital and additional research is needed to assess whether this dynamic is similar elsewhere. They also note that this decrease could provide an important opportunity to identify factors that can be controlled in the future to improve asthma management.
Read more in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society, and in this NPR report.
For a closer look at other connections between COVID-19 and asthma, please visit our website.
Warm regards,
RAMP staff