Burden of Asthma Among Rural Residents: A National Study

Funder:	Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Research center:	WWAMI Rural Health Research Center Phone: 206.685.0402
Lead researcher:	Mark Doescher, MD , 206.616.9207, mdoesche@u.washington.edu
Project funded:	September 2004
Project completed:	June 2007
Topics:	Chronic diseases and conditions Health disparities Minority health Rural statistics and demographics

Better information about the prevalence of and trends in chronic illness is needed for rural Americans. This study used data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to examine the prevalence of and trends in asthma, by type of geographic location and by key risk factors. The aim was to determine the prevalence of and trends in asthma among all rural BRFSS respondents and also among rural minority group members and residents of remote rural counties.

For this study, annual BRFSS data from 1994 to 2003 were used. Chi-square testing was used to compare unadjusted prevalence rates of each condition or screening by geographic category and race/ethnicity. Logistic regression analyses were performed to compare outcomes adjusted for sociodemographic, health and health care system factors. Trend assessment included time (in years) as an additional covariate in models. The Final Report for this project is available from the WWAMI RHRC website.

Publications

• National Study of Lifetime Asthma Prevalence and Trends in Metro and Non-Metro Counties, 2000-2003 (Full Report)
  Author(s): J. Elizabeth Jackson, Mark P. Doescher, L. Gary Hart
  Report Number: Working Paper No. 108
  Date: 01 / 2007
  Reports the findings of a study of the prevalence of and recent trends in asthma among adults residing in metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties in the United States. In 2003, the adjusted prevalence of lifetime asthma diagnosis was 12.0 percent for metropolitan counties and 11.0 percent for non-metropolitan counties (p < 0.001). Prevalence of lifetime asthma diagnosis trended upwards across the rural-urban spectrum between 2000 and 2003, and states with the highest 2003 prevalence and the greatest increase in prevalence among non-metropolitan residents were concentrated in the West Census region (e.g., Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington). Asthma prevalence in non-metropolitan counties was highest for those aged 18 to 34 (15.9%), the unemployed (13.5%), American Indians (12.7%) and women (12.4%).
• National Study of Lifetime Asthma Prevalence and Trends in Metro and Non-Metro Counties, 2000-2003 (Project Summary)
  Date: 01 / 2007
  Brief overview of findings of a study of the prevalence of and recent trends in asthma among adults residing in metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties in the United States. A full report is also available.