Studies & Reports
-
Study Explores Smoke Exposure of Fathers and Increased Risk of Offspring Asthma
In a manuscript accepted in August, 2022, for publication in the European Respiratory Journal, a team of Australian, British and Sri Lankan researchers found that children are much more likely to develop asthma if their father was exposed to tobacco smoke when he was growing up. Jiacheng Liu, from Melbourne University, one of the co-authors…
-
Study Examines Emergence of Electronic Monitoring Devices for Asthma Inhalers
An article in the June, 2022, issue of the European Respiratory Review explores technological advancements in the development of electronic monitoring of inhaler devices in order to monitor use and provide feedback on inhaler technique for some devices. The authors explain, “Most electronic monitoring devices (EMDs) are paired with a smartphone application, allowing patients to…
-
The Health Impacts of Co-exposure to Extreme Heat and Air Pollution
Recognizing that extremes of heat and particulate air pollution threaten human health and are becoming more frequent due to climate change, researchers at the University of Southern California set out to understand the health impacts of co-exposure to extreme heat and air pollution. Publishing their results in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care…
-
The Role of Race, Ethnicity, and Neighborhood Socioeconomic Factors in Asthma Incidence
In a May, 2022, article in the Journal of the American Medical Association: Pediatrics, researchers sought to determine the extent to which neighborhood-level socioeconomic indicators explain racial and ethnic disparities in childhood wheezing and asthma. The study population comprised 5,809 children in birth cohorts located throughout the United States that are part of the Children’s…
-
Study Shows Connection Between Air Pollution and Increased Risk for COVID Infection and Death in CA
California is home to some of the highest concentrations of air pollution in the nation. A study released in August, 2022, by the Public Health Institute’s Tracking California program reveals that air pollution increases the risk of COVID-19 infection and death. The study, Association Between Long-Term Exposure to Particulate Air Pollution with SARS-CoV-2 Infections and…
-
Report Explores International Asthma Guidelines and Potential Areas of Improvement
A report published in the July, 2022, edition of the Italian Journal of Pediatrics examines whether clinical guidelines for asthma, including The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), have areas where improvement may be needed. The authors note that while “available guidelines for asthma management represent an important and suitable tool to make the entire medical…
-
Study Connects Historical Redlining to Current Asthma Inequities
A study published in the December, 2021, edition of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine provides more evidence that “historical redlining, a US discriminatory mortgage lending practice in existence between the 1930s-1970s, may have actuated and then perpetuated poor asthma-related outcomes.” To assess the connection, the researchers geocoded over 1,000 participants from…
-
The COVID and Air Pollution Connection
During the pandemic, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 have been disproportionately high for low-income communities and communities of color. Low-income communities and communities of color have higher rates of preexisting health conditions, some of which put people at higher risk for poor COVID-19 outcomes. As with asthma and most public health issues, inequitable social and…
-
American Lung Association Releases “Zeroing in on Healthy Air” Report
In March, 2022, the American Lung Association released a new report titled “Zeroing in on Healthy Air” which focuses on health and climate benefits of a transition to zero-emission vehicles and non-combustion energy. The report finds that “switching to electric cars, buses, and trucks and clean electricity could save 110,000 lives and bring $1.2 trillion…