Author(s)

Faye Anderson^1*, George L. Delclos², D. C. Rao³

¹Independent Scholar, Houston, Texas, USA.
²Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, The University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, Texas, USA.
³Division of Biostatistics, School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

Asthma prevalence in the United States and the world has been increasing, affecting millions including children (0 - 17 years old) and causing thousands of deaths every year at a societal cost of over billions of dollars. Further, it has been documented that asthma morbidity responds to socioeconomic variations. This study evaluates the relationship between asthma and five air pollutants along with socioeconomic status in Texas counties from 2005 to 2013. Air pollutants investigated were carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), ozone (O₃), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and sulfur dioxide (SO₂). Exploratory and spatial analyses produced consistent results. Asthma prevalence was positively associated with PM2.5, SO₂, living near a park, and living in an urban area. Asthma childhood prevalence rates were positively associated with living in a household with a female head and negatively associated with ethnicity: Caucasian, Hispanic, and African American. Adult prevalence rates were positively associated with living in a household with female head, being on food stamps, and PM2.5. Both the overall and adult rates were positively associated with poverty. Asthma hospitalizations in Texas were positively associated with aerosol particles, sulfur dioxide, and low income. Moreover, the majority of air pollution in Texas is formed by stationary sources, which contradicts recent claims that mobile sources are the main emitters in Texas. Our findings are consistent with those from other geographical locations and suggest that additional studies and measures are required to fully explain the associations detected and underlying cause and effect paradigm.

Children Asthma, Respiratory, CO, NO₂, PM2.5, Ozone, SO₂

Anderson, F. , Delclos, G. and Rao, D. (2016) The Effect of Air Pollutants and Socioeconomic Status on Asthma in Texas. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 4, 39-52. doi: 10.4236/gep.2016.49004.