Clinical trials can help researchers learn to better treat asthma – but they need diverse volunteers. Black and Latino children who have severe asthma, are prone to asthma attacks, and live in low-income urban neighborhoods are underrepresented in asthma treatment clinical trials, even though they are more likely than whites to face health inequities that can exacerbate asthma symptoms. Fortunately, a recent National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded clinical trial with mostly Black and Latino children found that a monoclonal antibody – mepolizumab – can decrease asthma attacks by 27%. Antibodies are made naturally in the body to fight infection. A monoclonal antibody is made in the laboratory and administered to patients to treat a variety of diseases and infections, ...
Latinos suffer fast differences in health and social conditions compared to other racial and ethnic groups, particularly whites. These differences, called health disparities, are rooted in social disadvantage and are often unavoidable. The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) in Boston, Mass. (18.81% Latino population), has released a new report discussing the growing health and income disparities in the area. Some of the report’s findings include new stats about the rapidly rising rates of youth asthma hospitalizations in Greater Boston. According to the findings, the rate has increased by 22 hospitalizations per 100,000 from 2003-2007 to 2008-2012. One of the chief causes has been the growing number of Latino youth asthma cases. “In the asthma arena what [the findings] ...
Almost half of all the adults in the United States have at least one chronic medical condition. These conditions include many which disproportionately plague Latinos, such as diabetes and lung disease. Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), health coverage for chronically ill patients has increased by nearly 5%. While this has shown to be a significant gain, more work needs to be done. A study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine studied adults between the ages of 18 and 64, the largest pool taking part in the Health Insurance Marketplace. “We wanted to see how many people were uninsured and clearly needed health insurance,” said Dr. Hugo Torres, of the Cambridge Health Alliance in Cambridge, MA in an interview with USA Today. “We know the prevalence of ...
U.S. Latinos are especially vulnerable to health threats posed by climate change because of where they live, work and lack access to health care, according to a new report. The report, led by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), is an English and Spanish review of dozens of U.S. studies and reports on the health and economic impacts that Latinos face as a result of climate change. Results include: A majority live in California, Texas, Florida and New York, states that are among the most affected by extreme heat, air pollution, and flooding.
Latinos are heavily represented in crop and livestock production and construction, where they’re at elevated risk from climate-change-boosted extreme heat. They are three times more likely to die on the job from excessive heat ...
Health disparities continue to plague Latinos, who often lag in many key health equity issues. Many organizations are taking aim to reduce these disparities. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released an update to their CDC Health Disparities and Inequalities Report that highlights U.S. programs that help reduce health disparities through “meaningful community and local health authority involvement” among different groups, including Latinos. “Reducing and eliminating health disparities is fundamental to building a healthier nation,” said CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden. “With science-based and effective interventions, we can close health disparity gaps in America.” Eight programs were highlighted in the CDC’s supplement; they ...
Respiratory illnesses disproportionately affect foreign born Latinos unless they live in “enclave like settings,” according to research published by the American Journal of Public Health, Latin Post reports. Latinos who work in the areas of construction, farming, and factories are at higher risk for respiratory conditions. In the Mexican culture, respiratory illnesses are often treated with herbal medicines, but those are not always effective when treating acute conditions such as asthma. “Limón (lemon), Llantén (plantain or plantago), Canela (cassia cinnamon) are traditional Mexican medicinal herbs that frequently used to treat respiratory infections. However, most causes of acute respiratory infection aren't treatable; therefore prevention and practicing good hygiene ...
Latino kids have higher rates of asthma than other groups. In Rhode Island, the asthma rate among students is 50% in some inner-city schools with large Latino populations, putting kids in danger of missing school and trekking to the emergency room. What's a solution? A new study, called ASMAS (asthma management in schools) and led by Brown University, is using peer mentors to test the idea that "high schoolers might be able to help younger kids—like middle schoolers—manage their asthma better in school...especially if they come from the same ethnic group, and even from the same neighborhood," Rhode Island Public Radio reports. The study has recruited several peer mentors, like Andy Darius, a senior at Shea High School in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, who plays football, has ...
Latinos are at high risk for asthma because prevalence, illness and deaths are strongly correlated with urban air quality, indoor allergens, lack of patient education and inadequate medical care, according to an American Lung Association report. Both asthma and allergies are caused by the body's immune response to environmental triggers, such that some allergens can also trigger asthma, according to Kaiser Permanente. Other irritants can trigger asthma, too, such as the flu. So what can Latinos do? To make an action plan, visit Kaiser Permanente's bilingual website. You can also check out Spanish-language resources from the American Lung Association: Breathe Well, Live Well is an adult asthma self-management education program led by an American Lung Association-trained ...
Youth who are overweight or obese—especially Hispanics—are more likely to have asthma than their healthy weight counterparts, according to a new Kaiser Permanente Southern California study published in the online edition of Obesity. The study, which included more than 681,000 children between ages 6 and 19, found that the association between asthma and body mass index (BMI) varied by race and ethnicity. The association between BMI and asthma was strongest among Hispanic youth and weaker for African Americans, a group that was previously known to have the highest prevalence of asthma. “This research contributes to the growing evidence that there is a relationship between childhood obesity and asthma, and suggests that factors related to race and ethnicity, particularly for ...
