Education - July 2008

Health: Asthma disproportionately affects Blacks and Puerto Ricans

By Afrique editorial staff
 
"Puerto Ricans, being partly of African extraction, have a much higher rate of asthma problems than Mexicans and other Latinos who have insignificant amounts of African genetic ancestry. Consequently, asthma experts are now strongly correlating genetic inheritance with the high rate of asthma among African Americans and Puerto Ricans"

Asthma related complications have now become one of the major causes of deaths among African Americans, particular high among black American women. Moreover, there is a tangible and quantifiable racial disparity between African Americans and Caucasians in terms of asthma related hospital visits and fatal complications. Caucasians with asthma, regardless of social and economic background, die at a much lower rate than African Americans and Puerto Rican, a group that is equally widely affected by the alarming increase of asthma, a serious lung-related disease.

Michael B. Foggs, MD, a Chicago based medical expert in Asthma and Chief of Allergy and Immunology of Advocate Health Centers, stated in a phone interview with Afrique newsmagazine that the disproportion of asthmatics between Caucasians, African Americans and Puerto Ricans may have to do genetics. That is, Puerto Ricans, being partly of African extraction, have a much higher rate of asthma problems than Mexicans and other Latinos who have insignificant amounts of African genetic ancestry.

Consequently, asthma experts are now strongly correlating genetic inheritance with the high rate of asthma among African Americans and Puerto Ricans.  But, still, Dr. acknowledges that genes are not the sole factors. "Cultural issues" he pointed, "and high levels of emotional stress" also play a role in the development of asthma. Moreover, Dr Foggs added, "the mindset of individual asthmatics are to factored-in in the over-all scheme of asthma development and treatments" For instance, an individual who lacks trust of the healthcare system and the pharmaceutical industry may not take prescribed medications for fear that he or she may be used as a guinea-pig. In addition, an individual who downplays the severity of his or her asthma condition may take his or her medication only on a sporadic, that is, inconsistent basis, thus lowering the effectiveness of the treatment regimen.  Such individuals are more likely to have more serious asthma symptoms than more disciplined and trusting asthmatic patients, Dr. Foggs commented.

"Disciplined", however, in this context does not necessarily correlate with social or economic background. That is, even though most asthmatics hail from lower socio-economic backgrounds, some members of the educated affluent classes, too, suffer from it. Ernest Morial, the elder former Mayor of New Orleans, for example, died at the age of 54 of an asthma attack. Mr. Morial was not an indigent nor did he lack resources to keep his asthma condition in check. However, as Dr. Foggs suspects, he may have lacked the time and discipline required of asthmatics when it comes to medication regimen.

Unconscious Self Sabotage

What compelled Dr. Foggs to draw such a conclusion were likely his experiences with upscale asthmatic patients in the suburbs of Detroit. These were high-end attorneys, architects and corporate executives, yet their asthma symptoms were getting progressively severe due primary to a non-disciplined approach to taking their medications, and to a lesser extent, a lack of time, which is often a major problem among affluent asthmatics. Unlike the poor, who lack resources, informational tools, and awareness to adequately treat asthma, and often die before they reach the hospital, the moneyed well-to-do asthma sufferers have complications not because of lack of resources or awareness, theirs is possibly a case of unconscious self health sabotage. 

This likely unconscious sabotage of one's health has drastic consequence in asthmatics, as asthma, when untreated or not properly treated, gets progressive worse to the point where it starts to adversely affect nor only the lungs but other important internal body organs. So a disciplined and punctual regimen of treatment is crucial and imperative to all individuals with asthma, Dr. Foggs urges.

All in all, all factors considered affecting asthmatics, both the poor and ill-informed and the educated and affluent, there are informational resources available to help asthmatics control their condition. www.mylunghealth.com, a very helpful website about asthma treatments, is one such tool. In mylunghealth.com, information on effective therapeutical asthma treatments approaches such as "combinations therapy" and other helpful treatment tools are readily available for free.