Essay on "Environmental Genetic Factors That Influence"

Essay 3 pages (1027 words) Sources: 4

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Asthma attacks reportedly result in the deaths of 5,000 individuals each year in the U.S. alone (NRDC, 2005). Those figures have slightly improved, as in 2009 it was reported that nearly 3,500 people died of asthma, which is roughly equal to nine people dying a day from this disease (CDC, 2010). Approximately 1 in every 12 adults has been diagnosed with asthma, while 1 in 11 children is known to have this disease (CDC, 2010).

In terms of health disparities per populations, it is a known fact that individuals living in major metropolises areas are more exposed to bad air quality, and to air pollution which causes asthma. The inner cities of such metropolises are largely populated by historic minority groups -- specifically African-Americans and Latinos. More affluent individuals conventionally commute to such metropolises to work, while living in suburbs. Therefore, one can infer that these environmental factors come into play when assessing the members of the population in America who are adversely affected by asthma due to exacerbating air pollution factors. African-Americans are at greatest risk for incurring maladies related to this condition. They are nearly three times as likely to die from asthma than any other ethnic group, a fact which may reflect the financial realities afflicting these people in which, "more than 1 in 4 black adults can't afford their asthma medicines" (CDC, 2010, p. 4). Other salient factors related to the incidence of African-Americans afflicted with asthma include the fact that children of this group are twice as likely as whites to have asthma, whereas African-American adults are hospitalized more for asthma than whites (CDC, 2010, p. 3).

However, African-Americans are not the only racial minority group that is affected by the relationship between poor air quality/pollution and asthma. Close to 1 in every 7 Latinos cannot afford doctor visits on a routine basis, while approximately 20% of members of this group cannot afford medicine specific to asthmas (CDC, 2010, p. 4). There are also statistics which indicates that individuals of mixed ethnicities are likely to have higher incidences of asthma as well as greater complications from this disease than whites.

Thus, the research examined within this document demonstrates a number of important facts about asthma and air pollution. One of the most significant of these is that air pollution is responsible for asthma and making it worse in individuals who already have it. Also, environmental factors such as that air pollution is worse in major metropolises in which historic minority groups live contributes to these groups being adversely affected in greater numbers by asthma than other groups.

References

Centers for Disease Control National Asthma Control Program. (2010). Asthma's impact on the nation. www.cdc.gov. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/impacts_nation/asthmafactsheet.pdf

Environmental Protection Agency. (No date). Asthma and outdoor air pollution. www.epa.gov. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/airnow/health-prof/Asthma_Flyer_Final.pdf

Islam, T., Gauderman, J., Berhane, K., McConnell, R., Avol, E., Peters, J., Gilliland, F.D. (2007). Relationship between air pollution, lung, function and asthma in adolescents. www.thorax.bmj.com. Retrieved from http://thorax.bmj.com/content/62/11/957.full.pdf+html

Natural Resources Defense Council. (2005). Asthma and air pollution. www.nrdc.org. Retrieved from http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/fasthma.asp READ MORE

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