According to a new study, children who moved from troubled areas to better ones have better control over asthma.
The study includes 123 children of age 5-17 years with persistent asthma whose families took part in a six-year housing mobility program in Baltimore.
For every 100 children, there were approximately 88 severe asthma attacks per year. After moving to the new place there was a reduction of more than 50 percent in severe asthma cases, which is 40 asthma attacks per year. There was a huge improvement in asthma attacks due to major factors including feeling safer in their own community and experiencing better social cohesion with their neighbours.
Researchers also found that the reduction in neighbourhood-related stress led to an improvement in asthma symptoms between 20% – 35%.
The study shows that programs designed to counter housing discrimination have significant positive health effects on children.
The biggest reason of asthma is not due to the person we are but rather than surroundings we reside in. The findings of the study showed persistent racial and ethnic disparities in childhood asthma which is due to the distressed housing area.
Moreover, the result of the study suggests that children living in a better infrastructure that have the necessary resources than it will not lead to any emergency condition of asthma.