In Maryland, asthma is the most diagnosed pediatric illness, contributing to more visits to the emergency room than any other ailment. It also remains the No. 1 reason that children miss days at school, according to Peyton Eggleston, professor of pediatrics, who will co-direct the new center with Jouni Jaakkola, associate professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health. Nationally, asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood, affecting nearly 5 million children. For reasons that are unclear, says Eggleston, the prevalence and severity of asthma have increased over the past 20 years despite improvements in asthma diagnosis and management. The rate of asthma is 40 to 50 percent higher among African American children, and hospitalization rates in this population are three to five times higher.
Death rates are three times higher than in Caucasian children.
According to Eggleston, the reasons for these differences are complex and include increasing urbanization, exposure to indoor allergens and airborne pollutants, poor access to high-quality medical care and inappropriate use of medication. Eggleston and Jaakkola, together with 14 medical investigators and 15 staff members, will search for answers studying how, when, why and where school-aged children are exposed to substances that exacerbate asthma. The researchers will monitor air quality, calculate children's allergic responses, determine how those responses affect asthma rates and launch neighborhood education programs. Meanwhile, basic scientists will study how hereditary factors play a role in developing asthma based on exposure to different allergens. Locally, the project will begin in 1999, when staffers will spread out across East Baltimore to begin data collection.