Studies & Reports
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Researchers Study Connections Between Depression, Anxiety, and Asthma-Related Emergency Department Visits
In the October 2019 edition of Pediatrics, researchers examine the relation between anxiety and depression and asthma-related emergency department use. The study utilized the information of 65,342 “patients aged 6 to 21 years with asthma.” They found that 24.7% of the patients also “had a diagnosis of anxiety, depression, or both.” After controlling for age,…
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The Impacts of Interactions of Neighborhood Social Conditions and Family Relationships on Childhood Asthma
The August 2019 edition of Pediatrics contains an article examining how neighborhood social conditions and family relationships can affect childhood asthma. Youth diagnosed with asthma had the neighborhood conditions around their homes coded to see if they were dangerous and/or disorderly. They also interviewed the children to assess family relationship quality. Researchers found “significant interactions”…
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Feasibility of Incentives to Increase Adherence in High-Risk Children with Asthma
In the August 2019 edition of The Journal of Asthma, researchers sought to find if adherence incentives could be used for high-risk children to increase adherence to medication use. In a two-month study, researchers provided reminders, feedback, and cash incentives to the family and children to help with daily adherence in the first month. In…
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Researchers Investigate Impacts of Infant Gut Microbial Compounds on Allergy and Asthma Risk
Nature Microbiology released an article in its July 2019 edition that identifies a compound produced by gut bacteria that predisposes infants to allergies and asthma later in life. Researchers at UC San Francisco identified a lipid that reduced the number and activity of immune cells that suppress allergic inflammation. To test its effects, they injected…
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Union of Concerned Scientists Release “Killer Heat in the United States: Climate Choices and the Future of Dangerously Hot Days”
The Union of Concerned Scientists has released a report detailing the effects of climate change titled “Killer Heat in the United States: Climate Choices and the Future of Dangerously Hot Days.” The report is a national analysis that digs into the rapid, widespread increases in extreme heat that are projected to occur, as well as…
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Investigation of Ultrafine Particle Exposure Linkages to Childhood Asthma Incidence
A comment in the June 2019 edition of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine examines ultrafine particles, which are currently not addressed by air quality regulations. The researchers note these sized particles can have greater toxic effects than larger molecules due to a number of factors, including “chemical composition, deeper lung penetration,…
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Implications of Proposed Changes to Public Charge Immigration Rules on Children
In JAMA Pediatrics’ July 2019 edition, an article looks at the implications of the proposed rule changes to federal “Public Charge” guidelines utilized in the immigration process. “The proposed changes are expected to cause many immigrant parents to disenroll their families from safety-net programs, in large part because of fear and confusion about the rule,…
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Study Examines Inhaler Carry and Use Among Children at School
The July 2019 Journal of Asthma contains an article examining the “factors associated with inhaler self-carry among children and examine[s] barriers and facilitators to self-carry.” Researchers asked child-parent pairs and nurses from Chicago schools to answer questions relating to “asthma care and morbidity, confidence in self-carry skills, and facilitators and barriers to self-carry.” They found…
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Historical Redlining Affects Health of Communities Today
A joint study between UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco found that redlining in the past still affects the health of communities today. The authors note “even though a policy gets eliminated or is recognized to be a poor choice, its effect can have impacts even many decades later… We need to use that information…