Tenant Reported Triggers Are Associated With Pediatric Asthma Emergency Department Visits

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Pediatric Asthma Research
• Public Health

Background:

• In-home allergen exposures significantly contribute to pediatric asthma prevalence and health disparities.
• Asthma management is challenged by environmental factors within homes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the link between tenant-reported in-home asthma triggers and pediatric emergency department (ED) visits for asthma at a neighborhood level.
• To understand the impact of environmental asthma triggers on healthcare utilization.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective cohort study analyzed 3,209 patients under 26 with 5,290 asthma-related ED visits to Boston Children's Hospital (2018-2019).
• Included 8,230 tenant reports of in-home asthma triggers filed with the City of Boston (2017-2019).
• Electronic health records provided medication data for a subset of patients.

Main Results:

• Higher rates of asthma trigger reports in neighborhoods correlated with significantly increased pediatric asthma ED visits.
• This association remained significant after adjusting for neighborhood characteristics (adjusted IRR per IQR, 1.18).

Conclusions:

• Neighborhoods with more reported in-home asthma triggers exhibit higher pediatric asthma emergency department utilization.
• Tenant-reported environmental triggers are a key factor in pediatric asthma healthcare needs.