Neighborhood Deprivation and Crime on Asthma Exacerbations and Utilization in Mild Adult Asthma

Social determinants of health have a significant impact on asthma outcomes, and factors such as income level and neighborhood environment have crucial roles.

This study aimed to assess the impact of the Neighborhood Deprivation Index (NDI) and Total Crime Index (TCI) on acute asthma exacerbation (AAE) and asthma-related emergency department and urgent care (ED/UC) visits in adults with mild asthma.

This retrospective cohort study used administrative data from Kaiser Permanente Southern California among 198,873 adult patients with mild asthma between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2018. We employed robust Poisson regression models, adjusted for age and sex, to investigate the associations of NDI and TCI with AAE and asthma-related ED/UC visits. Data analysis included subgroup assessments by race and ethnicity and body mass index categories to explore potential disparities in asthma outcomes.

Among the cohort, 12,906 patients (6.5%) experienced AAE in 1 year, and Black patients had the highest AAE percentage (7.1%). Higher NDI quintiles were associated with increased AAE risk (adjusted risk ratio = 1.11-1.27), with similar trends across body mass index categories and race or ethnicity, except for Black patients. The TCI showed weaker associations with AAE. Regarding ED/UC visits, 5.0% had such visits within 1 year. Higher NDI quintiles were associated with higher ED/UC visit risk (adjusted risk ratio = 1.23-1.75) whereas TCI associations were weaker.

Addressing socioeconomic disparities, as indicated by NDI, may be crucial in mitigating asthma exacerbations and reducing health care use, highlighting the importance of incorporating social determinants into asthma management strategies even in patients with mild asthma.