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Asthma in pregnancy--its relationship with race, insurance, maternal education, and prenatal care utilization

Katherine D Chung1, Kitaw Demissie, George G Rhoads

  • 1Department of Epidemiology, UMDNJ-School of Public Health (SPH), Piscataway, NJ 08854-5635, USA. kchung@umdnj.edu

Journal of the National Medical Association
|December 14, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Racial disparities in pregnancy asthma rates are linked to insurance type, a key indicator of socioeconomic status. Addressing insurance access can help reduce these disparities.

Area of Science:

  • Public Health
  • Epidemiology
  • Health Services Research

Background:

  • Asthma during pregnancy affects maternal and infant health outcomes.
  • Racial and ethnic disparities in asthma prevalence are well-documented.
  • Socioeconomic factors, including insurance, are suspected contributors to these disparities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate racial/ethnic disparities in asthma rates among pregnant individuals.
  • To examine the role of insurance type, maternal education, and prenatal care in these disparities.

Main Methods:

  • Historical cohort study using linked birth certificates and maternal hospital claims data.
  • Analysis of singleton live births in New Jersey from 1989-1993 (N=556,597).

Main Results:

  • African-American and Hispanic mothers had higher rates of asthma compared to white mothers.
  • Medicaid and Medicaid HealthStart enrollees showed increased odds of asthma during pregnancy compared to traditional indemnity coverage.
  • Insurance status emerged as the most significant socioeconomic factor, explaining a substantial portion of the racial/ethnic disparity.

Conclusions:

  • Insurance type, as a proxy for socioeconomic status, significantly explains racial disparities in pregnancy asthma.
  • Improving medical care access for disadvantaged women through insurance may mitigate public health impacts.
Abstract

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