Puerto Rican Children with Asthma Less Likely to Use Inhalers Than Mexican American Children
By Patrick Broadwater
Friday, February 8, 2019
Puerto Rican children were more likely to have poor or decreasing use of inhaled medication needed to control their asthma than Mexican American children, according to a new study by University of Rochester Medical Center researchers.
The study, published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society, also found that girls of both ethnic groups were more likely than boys to have poor or decreasing use of the asthma control medications.
Patients with chronic asthma often require consistent use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) even when their symptoms aren’t present in order to prevent exacerbations. This study, led by Kimberly Arcoleo, PhD, MPH, associate professor in the UR School of Nursing, is the first to show that unique ethnicities within Latino communities may be associated with difference levels of ICS adherence.