Blog
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Researchers Conduct Systemic Review to Identify Asthma Attack Risk Factors in Children
In the September 2018 edition of Thorax, researchers conducted a systemic review to “identify and weight risk factors for asthma attacks in children.” After systematically searching six databases, researchers identified 68 papers relevant to the study. The researchers found “previous asthma attacks were associated with greatly increased risk of attack,” and “persistent symptoms” and “poor…
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Study Examines Effects of Nitrate Air Pollution on Childhood Lung Function
Environmental Research’s August 2018 edition includes an article discussing the effects of prenatal exposure to nitrate on lung function in childhood. The researchers estimated daily ambient nitrate exposure during pregnancy, and then used spirometry with the children around year seven. They found “an early sensitive window of 6-12 weeks gestation, during which increase nitrate was…
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Effectiveness of Filters in Schools and Homes on Children with Asthma
The September 2018 edition of Environmental Science & Technology “investigates exposure, health, and cost impacts of high efficiency filters in homes and schools,” with a focus on asthma-related outcomes. Through their study, researchers found “replacing inefficient filters with enhanced filters in schools would reduce the PM2.5-attributable asthma burden by 13% annually, with higher benefits for…
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Effects of Neighborhood Poverty on Children with Asthma
In the October 2018 edition of Family & Community Health an article examines “the relationship between child asthma and features associated with neighborhood poverty, including safety, social cohesion, informal social control, collective efficacy, and disorder.” The study included 3010 children from low-income neighborhoods. The results showed “the relationship between asthma and poverty is accounted for…
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ALA and CDC Examine Asthma Care Coverage and Associated Barriers in State Medicaid Programs
The American Lung Association (ALA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have published an article in the September 2018 edition of Preventing Chronic Disease investigating the extent of asthma care coverage and associated barriers in state Medicaid programs. The article examines the ALA’s Asthma Guidelines-Based Care Coverage Project, which tracked coverage for…
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Effects of Environmental Factors on Exercise-Induced Bronchoconstriction
August’s online edition of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology includes an article examining how cold and warm seasons affect the occurrence of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) in children. Researchers studied 213 non-asthmatic schoolchildren aged 15 – 17 years, collecting spirometry data in winter and summer for two years. They found that “the occurrence of EIB differed…
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American Lung Association Releases “Controlling Air Pollutants in Multi-Unit Housing”
The American Lung Association has released a resource titled “Controlling Air Pollutants in Multi-Unit Housing.” This infographic was designed to assist property managers in identifying and controlling indoor air pollutants. In addition, it includes information about the American Lung Association’s Healthy Air at Home program, which teaches how to protect air in your home. The…
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Environmental Protection Agency Produces “It’s Asthma” Infographic Series
The Indoor Environments Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released “It’s Asthma,” an infographic series providing information about indoor environmental asthma triggers to adolescents and emerging adults with asthma. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adolescents and emerging adults have the highest and fourth highest current asthma prevalence rates among…
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Study Examines Effects of Passive Tobacco Smoke on Risk of Asthma
In the October 2018 edition of Environmental Research, a study “compared the risk of asthma in groups exposed to passive tobacco smoke.” Over the course of the study period, “passive smoke exposure level among children ages 3-11 in the US” decreased, but researchers still found “higher exposure to passive smoke is still associated with higher…
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Asthma Management Academy Releases Video on Asthma Management in Imperial County
The Asthma Management Academy, a series of in-person trainings that use national asthma guidelines to teach non-licensed health professionals and educators in the most highly impacted communities, has released a new video on how learning about asthma through the program has led to one student teaching others about air pollution and asthma. In the video,…
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USC Publishes Does Race Increase Your Chances of Asthma?
Nursing@USC, the online Family Nurse Practitioner Program at the University of Southern California, has published a resource titled “Does Race Increase Your Chance of Asthma?” The visual and written guide investigates the social determinants of health that affect asthma and examines how they impact black children as opposed to their white peers. The guide details…
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Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Releases Schools for Health: Foundations for Student Success
The Healthy Buildings Team at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has released a report titled “Schools for Health: Foundations for Student Success.” The document was designed to synthesize more than thirty years of scientific research about the impacts of indoor environmental quality in schools, and also provide an accessible, evidence-based guide to the…