Asthma is one of the most common and costly diseases in the United States. With many deaths and billions of dollars spent to treat the disease, it has only become a growing problem. The disease is especially prevalent in children and more specifically, children in Buffalo, New York. Many articles have been written and studied on children in Buffalo and why so many of them have asthma. The question that can be formed from these studies is what causes these kids to get asthma in the first place, and why is it such a growing issue?
Author Lin Shao wrote an article on ways asthma was studied in the Buffalo Area. One way researchers wanted to study the asthma cases in Buffalo was to send questionnaires to houses in the city. When the households finished the questionnaires, they were sent back in to be reviewed. Once they were looked over, 3,008 kids were found to be eligible for the study. Out of the 3,008 kids, 770 of them were found to have asthma. There were many factors that could have played into why so many kids ended up with asthma in Buffalo. One thing that the researchers noticed was that the asthma cases were much higher with men, African-Americans, and Hispanics. Another factor that was found with this study was the fact that it was not really the unavailability of a doctor, but it was the indoor environmental factors that affected the children. Smokers in the house, any house with a vaporizer/humidifier, or chemical odors in the house affected children also when it came to asthma. One more interesting fact from this specific study was the presence of cockroaches and birds in the home. Many people believe that a lot of asthma cases stem from outdoor environmental issues which can be true, but there are just as many indoor factors that can affect if children develop asthma or not.
Another article written by Rena Jones for Medline talks about how another study specifically focused on the indoor factors that can affect asthma cases, but this study focused more on indoor mold and how children are affected by it. Children who were affected by the indoor mold had symptoms that included a wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. These symptoms all affected the lower respiratory and this is due to the dampness in the homes of these children. That dampness in the house resulted into mold, which causes a problem for the people living in those homes. Some of these cases even led to the hospitalization of children. Just like the first study, the way this study was done was by a questionnaire sent to the houses in Buffalo. Once they were completed, the researchers realized just how much mold existed in the homes of Buffalo. There were 50 children that fit the asthma cases. Out of those 50 kids, 33 of them were diagnosed with asthma by an actual physician. Cladosporium was the number one fungus group in the homes, which was present in 98% of the homes surveyed. The next fungal group was Penicillium which was present in 91% of homes surveyed. These are two of many fungal groups that are frequently detected in the homes of Buffalo. It is shown that many of these kids who lived in these homes had no prior family history of asthma, which proves that many of these children’s cases of asthma developed strictly from the living conditions they were in.
The next study written about by Rena Jones focuses on the effect asthma has on Buffalo Children, and deals with the racial/ethnic differences in children that suffer from asthma. In this study, it is shown that black and Hispanic children are more likely to use urgent care than white children. This happens for many reasons. One major reason is one reason that was discussed before, the indoor environment that the kids are growing up in. This study shows that the white kids that were surveyed were in homes that their parents paid for on their own, where they could afford to fix any household problems. Many of the black and Hispanic families were living in homes that were given to them at a way cheaper price, however there are many problems with these homes. If there is mold present in the house, which is one of the leading causes to asthma, and no one can afford to get rid of it in the home, then it will just stay there and only get worse. Many families do not know mold is even growing in their home, and if they do there is not much they can do about it. Another huge factor that can play into the racial differences when it comes to treating children for asthma is the healthcare they are receiving. According to this study, 535 white children receive insurance that is not a government insurance (Medicaid). However, 159 black and Hispanics receive Medicaid and Medicaid only. Medicaid is a government insurance that is offered to people that cannot afford insurance, however the black and Hispanic groups are the groups that continuously need help when it comes to children with asthma. It is also proven that more white children receive care from a private doctor, while black and Hispanics have to go to a place like a hospital, where there are many patients for every one doctor. There is a great chance that these minority groups are not getting the same care as white children because they cannot afford to have a private doctor that can give them the time they deserve to have.
After many studies being read on this issue in Buffalo, you are left to wonder why is this happening, and what are we going to do to fix this? Although the numbers for asthma cases have been steadily increasing for years now, this is not a new issue for Buffalo. There have been asthma cases going all the way back for 20 years now. Based on the studies, we know that the black and Hispanic children are the children that are most affected. We know that the housing they live in is poor housing and the government should step in and help. If the government cannot find a new place for them to live, they should at least send workers to clean up these families’ homes. The cost may be an issue but the government already pays so much to treat asthma they might actually save money in the end by cleaning these houses.
Asthma is one of the most common diseases in the Unites States. Obviously very present in the Buffalo area, you see how asthma affects different races based on their social class. Based on these studies, asthma is very clearly an issue with all children. However, it is disturbing to see how it is treated and handled throughout different children in Buffalo, and to see that this is a social problem that has not been addressed properly yet.