Collaborative ECHO research led by Izzuddin Aris, PhD, of Harvard Medical School examined the association of conditions and resources available in neighborhoods during different development stages with childhood asthma incidence.
Neighborhood conditions, such as access to housing, healthy food, transportation, and education centers, can influence the development of childhood asthma. Researchers often measure these conditions using the Child Opportunity Index and the Social Vulnerability Index, which link residential addresses at birth, infancy (age 0.5‒1.5 years), and early childhood (age 2.0‒4.8 years) to census-tract data about the opportunities and resources available in the surrounding neighborhood.
ECHO researchers used data from 10,516 children at 46 research sites participating in the ECHO Program. The participants had at least one residential address from birth and a parent or caregiver report of a physician’s diagnosis of asthma.
Children born in high-opportunity neighborhoods had an asthma incidence rate of 23.3 cases per 1,000 children, while those born in very low and low-opportunity neighborhoods had rates of 35.3 per 1,000 and 27 per 1,000, respectively.
“Neighborhood conditions could help researchers identify vulnerable children who are at high risk for developing asthma,” said Dr. Aris. “This information can also guide policymakers, researchers, and community groups to improve children’s health and foster equity across neighborhoods.”
Future studies can explore the impact of investing in early life health and environmental, social, and economic resources on improving health outcomes for children in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Follow-up studies can also focus on how these neighborhood-level factors are affecting asthma rates and how moving may alter asthma development.
This research, titled “Associations of Neighborhood Opportunity and Vulnerability with Incident Asthma Among U.S. Children in the ECHO cohorts,” is published in JAMA Pediatrics.