Past Online Articles Create username. By Tracy L. Schmierer Illustration by Vince Argondezzi Morbidity and mortality related to asthma are significantly greater in African American children than other racial groups.
Researchers question whether biological or environmental factors are to blame.
It's possible that there is no one correct cause, but multiple underlying origins-intensifying the mystery behind asthma's escalating prevalence. Biological Factors Christine Joseph, PhD, has investigated the biological predisposition view. Previous research focused on low-income urban African Americans, however many studies didn't distinguish racial differences from poverty effects. Dr. Joseph attempted to reduce the compounding effect of socioeconomic status on racial differences by studying individuals unique to this type of study-middle class children in a multiethnic population. In addition, she decided against studying factors traditionally associated with asthma severity, such as the number of emergency room visits, because these can be misleading.