Asthma and women of colour: Does Asthma... - Living with Asthma

Living with Asthma

3,579 members737 posts

Asthma and women of colour

Eupnoos profile image
10 Replies

Does Asthma affect women of colour more severely than men? Is this to do with genetic pre-disposition?

Written by
Eupnoos profile image
Eupnoos
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
10 Replies
hilary39 profile image
hilary39

I don't know the answer to this particular question but I do know African American women are the group most likely to die of an asthma attack in the US (where I'm from) due to a lack of health insurance, proper medical care, and an inability to afford controller medicines. The Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America (AAFA) is doing some great work in this area:

aafa.org/asthma-disparities...

Eupnoos profile image
Eupnoos in reply to hilary39

Thank you Hilary! Here is a paper that validates what you said healthunlocked.com/api/redi...

Eupnoos profile image
Eupnoos in reply to Eupnoos

I'm trying to collect data on the effects of asthma on women as there is such generic and outdated information available. I created a survey to learn more and am inviting women to fill it in. I need about 300 respondents to get statistically significant information. Am still at 60. I hope to learn something interesting.

Mijmijkey74 profile image
Mijmijkey74 in reply to Eupnoos

Did you learn anything interesting from it? I would have thought 600 respondents would have helped you uncover and learn something even better and consistent than from only about 300. I'm intrested to know your finding. x

starveycat profile image
starveycat

I don't know, but it's our lungs that are affected so I don't understand how it could be our skin colour, I do know it's a flipping nuisance

Eupnoos profile image
Eupnoos in reply to starveycat

It's because of genetic predisposition and relation to dosing. Here is an interesting paper I found : in short - Asthma hits African-Americans particularly hard, and the health care system often fails them. An estimated 15.3 percent of black children have the disease compared with 7.1 percent of white children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overall, African-Americans are nearly three times as likely to die from asthma as white people.

statnews.com/2019/03/26/ast...

starveycat profile image
starveycat in reply to Eupnoos

Have you looked into the effects of vitamin d3 ?

Eupnoos profile image
Eupnoos in reply to starveycat

Nope, will look for references. Thank you!

Mijmijkey74 profile image
Mijmijkey74 in reply to starveycat

Skin colour can affect the type of treatment received sadly, but how skin colour impacts the actual condition called asthma of the respiratory system differently lungs/respiratory wise between different skin colours I'm not sure if it does or not apart from how people are medically treated. Maybe women of colour (white is also a colour as is pink, yellow, red, brown, black, grey) does impact women more than men? I know more biological females with asthma than biological males with asthma. That may be because of males lungs and hearts being bigger than females lungs and hearts. So males possibly have better lung and heart capacity to defend against respiratory conditions better. 🤷‍♀️

d2read profile image
d2read

A good source for research on this is through the Asthma & Allergy Foundation, aafa.org. Another major contributing factor for both children and adults is environmental — women and children of color are more likely to live in urban areas, live in older hones/apartments, attend schools and work in older buildings — all of which more frequently are poorly constructed/maintained. Indoor air quality is often poorer, with higher levels of toxic mold, dust and broken-down debris from lead paint, asbestos and other dangerous materials. All of these are factors that track with greater levels of poverty, but also reflect strong community ties that can keep people in the same old location to be near family, friends and support structures.

You may also like...

Hospitalized for ASTHMA

for three days. I noticed her asthma gets worse when she pregnant does that happen to others.

Sarcoidosis or Asthma?

had symptoms which are very much like bronchitis, asthma or other lung problems and had to...

Asthma & GORD/Oespohagitis

trouble swallowing? I know oesophagitis can mimic asthma but I've started to develop a problem with...

What is an emergency pack for asthma?

emergency room during the night. What symptoms and how severe do the symptoms have to be before...

EMERGENCY KIT FOR ASTHMA

with adult onset asthma. It has been quite a journey and some very scary times. My asthma or...