Asthma disparities in the Black community

(The Dallas Examiner) – “The reality of the situation is that Black Americans experience worse asthma outcomes when compared to their White counterparts. When we look into the statistics, asthma is disproportionately diagnosed in Black Americans,” Arinze Onwualu with Learn to Understand and Manage Severe Asthma, stated during the Asthma Disparities in the Black Community webinar hosted by The National Caucus and Center on Black Aging. & Black people are also five times as likely to be hospitalized due to asthma. The Black community is also three times more likely to die from asthma, with the highest death rates being Black women. Black Americans are six times as likely to visit the emergency department due to asthma. & & & & & & & & & & & “Along with ethnicity, age may come with other complications, such as symptoms may feel harder to control, it can take longer to recover from exacerbations, and side effects from certain asthma medications may be harder to control,” Onwualu added.What is asthma?Related Stories Asthma is a chronic disease of airway inflammation. It is a long-term disease and an inflammatory disorder. In patients with asthma, airways are overly reactive to irritants and triggers, leading...