Spokane County Poverty Affects Asthma Rate

CONNECTION

Spokane County regularly has a higher rate of people hospitalized for asthma than the state as a whole, but that’s not primarily caused by air pollution, health officials say.

Whitman County, where dust and smoke also can be a problem for residents, regularly has a lower rate. Comparable statistics don’t exist for Idaho counties, where state officials estimate 10 percent of the public has been told at some point they have asthma.

“The answer is actually rather complicated,” said Paul Stepak, epidemiologist for the Spokane Regional Health District.

Michael Kraemer, an allergist with the Spokane Allergy and Asthma Clinic, said most cities - particularly pockets of poverty within urban areas - have a higher rate of asthma than suburbs or rural areas.

“Poverty is a big issue in the delivery of asthma care,” Kraemer said. “It’s not race, it’s poverty.”

The urban poor are less likely to have health insurance that covers regular doctor visits and prescription drugs. Poor people who are living from crisis to crisis, worrying about food, shelter and safety, are less likely to take the daily regimen of drugs that will manage their asthma.

Kraemer believes the most effective way to cut asthma rates would be for parents to stop smoking, even before their children are born, and for poor families to have their homes retrofitted with wood floors and high-efficiency air filters to cut down on dust.