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Demography, Population, and Ecology

Asthma

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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health

Neighborhood Socioeconomic Context Predicts Pediatric Asthma Exacerbation, Ashley W. Kranjac, Zeev N. Kain, Louis Ehwerhemuepha, Michael Weiss, Brooke N. Jenkins Jul 2024

Neighborhood Socioeconomic Context Predicts Pediatric Asthma Exacerbation, Ashley W. Kranjac, Zeev N. Kain, Louis Ehwerhemuepha, Michael Weiss, Brooke N. Jenkins

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Causes of asthma exacerbation in children have been studied extensively at the individual level, but contributions of neighborhood-level factors are less explored. We test which distinctive residential characteristics produce variation in uncontrolled asthma among pediatric patients. We extracted electronic medical record data from pediatric patients living in Southern California and used multilevel modeling techniques to isolate which neighborhood characteristics drive inequitable asthma control. Above and beyond the individual-level factors known to predict inadequate disease control, neighborhoods with greater concentration of non-Hispanic black residents (odds ratios [OR] = 1.02; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.99-1.03; P < .05), higher proportions of female-headed households (OR = 1.01; 95% CI: 0.99-1.01; P < .05), and higher levels of ambient air pollution (OR = 1.05; 95% CI: 1.01-1.10; P < .001) associate with greater odds of asthma exacerbation. The interplay between community characteristics and asthma management during childhood is complex, and place-based initiatives are needed to narrow the gap in asthma exacerbation.


Comprehensive Neighborhood Portraits And Child Asthma Disparities Introduction, Ashley W. Kranjac, Rachel T. Kimbro, Justin T. Denney, Kristin M. Osiecki, Brady S. Moffett, Keila N. Lopez Feb 2017

Comprehensive Neighborhood Portraits And Child Asthma Disparities Introduction, Ashley W. Kranjac, Rachel T. Kimbro, Justin T. Denney, Kristin M. Osiecki, Brady S. Moffett, Keila N. Lopez

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Objectives Previous research has established links between child, family, and neighborhood disadvantages and child asthma. We add to this literature by first characterizing neighborhoods in Houston, TX by demographic, economic, and air quality characteristics to establish differences in pediatric asthma diagnoses across neighborhoods. Second, we identify the relative risk of social, economic, and environmental risk factors for child asthma diagnoses. Methods We geocoded and linked electronic pediatric medical records to neighborhood-level social and economic indicators. Using latent profile modeling techniques, we identified Advantaged, Middle-class, and Disadvantaged neighborhoods. We then used a modified version of the Blinder-Oaxaca regression decomposition method to …