In what way may race, ethnicity or culture influence asthma outcomes?

• Published in: Thorax 2000-03, Vol.55 (3), p.175-176
• Main Author: PARTRIDGE, M R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: African Americans; Asia, Western - ethnology; Asthma; Asthma - diagnosis; Asthma - ethnology; Cardiovascular disease; Children & youth; Communication; Communication Barriers; Cultural Deprivation; Ethnicity; Health Services Accessibility; Hospitals; Humans; Inner city; Linguistics; Mortality; Population; Prevalence; Professional-Patient Relations; Studies; Treatment Outcome; United Kingdom - ethnology
• ISSN: 0040-6376; 1468-3296
• DOI: 10.1136/thorax.55.3.175

Patients from the ISC admitted to hospital with asthma have no more severe disease than those from other ethnic or racial backgrounds. 16 17 Studies of asthmatic patients in India have suggested that those with the condition have similar ages of onset, sex distribution, associated atopic disease, and allergic history to those seen elsewhere, 18 and comparisons of adult Asian immigrants with white asthmatics attending the same asthma clinic in the UK have shown similar skin prick test reactions to common allergens and treatment needs. 19 However, the degree to which a westernised life style is adopted may be associated with differing prevalences of atopy and bronchial hyperreactivity and, in one study, the more exclusively Asian the diet, the lower the risk of hyperreactivity and atopy. [...]asthma may be slightly more common in South Asians living in the UK, but it may be underdiagnosed and undertreated.