Childhood Asthma Prevalence among Puerto Ricans and Mexican Americans: Implications for Behavioral Intervention Research

Parental management is the least understood, but often a vital, element of treatment effectiveness in childhood asthma. This study identifies individual, household, and community-level variables relevant to home treatment effectiveness among two Hispanic groups: Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans. The relationship between these variables and lifetime prevalence of childhood asthma (LTP) are examined with data in the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1982-84 (HHANES), a mixed cross-sectional retrospective national survey. Unadjusted estimates indicate that Puerto Rican ethnicity, poverty, urban residence, and single parenthood are positively associated with LTP. Children born outside the mainland United States, children of low weight for age, and males show an increased risk of LTP In a multiple logistic regression model, Puerto Rican ethnicity, low weight for age, and male gender remain positively associated, and poverty becomes negatively associated, with LTP Implications are discussed for programs designed to assist children of Hispanic origin with asthma.