Disparities in asthma control and treatment: A spotlight on Mexican American children

Disparities in asthma morbidity between Black and non-Hispanic White children are well documented, but less is known about differences between Mexican American and non-Hispanic White children.

We sought to examine differences in asthma control and treatment between Mexican American and non-Hispanic White children with persistent asthma in Central Texas and contextualize these differences relative to those observed between Black and non-Hispanic White children.

Data were drawn from the Texas Home Assessment of Asthma and Lung Exposures study. Parents were surveyed about well-controlled asthma (defined as Asthma Control Test score ≥ 20), controller medication use in the past 2 weeks, socioeconomic status, and health care access. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations between race and ethnicity and asthma outcomes, with and without adjustment for socioeconomic and health care access factors.

Among 202 children (46% Mexican American, 26% Black, 28% non-Hispanic White), Mexican American children had 81% lower odds of well-controlled asthma and 58% lower odds of controller medication use compared with non-Hispanic White children. These disparities persisted after adjusting for socioeconomic and health care access factors, though some associations were no longer statistically significant. Comparisons between Black and non-Hispanic White children demonstrated more pronounced disparities in asthma control and similar disparities in controller medication use.

Mexican American and Black children are less likely to have controlled asthma and use controller medications, reflecting persistent disparities not fully explained by socioeconomic and health care access factors.