Educational level, housing status and other socioeconomic factors are thought to affect the health of people with asthma, but a new study finds that one’s neighborhood and surrounding area may also play a significant role, even after taking into account personal economic well-being.

While study findings showed worse health and poorer quality of life among people living in lower-income areas, they also showed poorer lung function among those living in suburbs, where people tended to own newer homes in less densely populated neighborhoods.

The analysis did not pinpoint exposures that might be linked to these population effects, but most researchers believe water-damaged housing stock, proximity to high traffic flow, industrial pollution, and social environmental stress are key contributors to health problems in poorer neighborhoods. The study raises the possibility that more frequent household pet ownership may be one factor in lower lung function in suburban-related health exposures, although larger backyards with more allergenic plants could be a contributor.

“Even if individual risk factors such as poor access to medical care can be overcome, different communities have different asthma patterns, and strategies for prevention and treatment must take this into account,” said Paul Blanc, MD, UCSF professor of occupational and environmental medicine and lead author of the study.

The study examined the respiratory health and self-reported socioeconomic status of more than 400 adults suffering from either asthma, chronic nasal or sinus conditions, or both. Most of the people live in northern California. Some were also visited in their homes in order to directly assess their health status and environment.

The investigators were able to use computer mapping of residential location, a process known as geocoding, in order to link interview data with general U.S. census information for each person’s surroundings. In this way they could characterize different area-wide socioeconomic factors such as percentage of home ownership, population density, average incomes, number of single-parent households, and local unemployment rates. By combining these factors, the investigators saw a strong link between the socioeconomic status of the area and health measures in asthma.

The study, conducted by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, is published in the January issue of the European Respiratory Journal.

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