Summary
Summary: The Asian American (AA) population is highly heterogenous and rapidly growing; however, little is known regarding childhood asthma burden among AA subgroups. The relation of childhood obesity and asthma in AA subgroups also remains unclear.
Authors analyzed data from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) from 2011–2020, the largest U.S. representative state sample survey. AA ethnicities were self-reported. Body mass index (BMI) z-scores, calculated from self-reported height/weight, were used to categorize overweight/obese children, based on CDC BMI-for-age growth charts. Prevalence of self-reported lifetime doctor-diagnosed asthma and asthma attack in the last 12 months were calculated.
Findings: Of 36,620 survey respondents, 993/8,051 (12.3%) non-Hispanic white (NHW) and 657/5,439 (12.1%) AA children reported doctor-diagnosed lifetime asthma, ranging from 38/434 (8.7%) Korean to 143/888 (16.1%) Filipino/a. Compared to NHW, AA children had a similar lifetime asthma prevalence, with lower prevalence in Korean American children and higher prevalence in Filipino/a American children. The lifetime asthma prevalence of different AA subgroups persisted even when stratified by BMI categories of lean and overweight/obese.
Childhood lifetime asthma prevalence varies among AA subgroups, with highest prevalence among Filipino/a Americans. Further characterization of asthma burden amongst AA subgroups may help guide asthma screening and prevention measures, and offer new insights into asthma pathogenesis.
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