Perspective

Race, ethnicity and social class and the complex etiologies of asthma

† Author for correspondence

Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, UCSF/Lung Biology Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143–2911, USA.

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Email the corresponding author at katherine.drake@ucsf.edu

Joshua M Galanter

Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.

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Email the corresponding author at joshua.galanter@ucsf.edu

Esteban González Burchard

Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, UCSF/Lung Biology Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143–2911, USA.

Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Institute of Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.

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Email the corresponding author at katherine.drake@ucsf.edu

Email the corresponding author at joshua.galanter@ucsf.edu

Email the corresponding author at esteban@sfgh.ucsf.edu

Published Online:2 Apr 2008https://doi.org/10.2217/14622416.9.4.453

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Abstract

Asthma is a common but complex respiratory disease caused by the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Significant racial and ethnic disparities in prevalence, mortality and drug response have been described. These disparities may be explained by racial and ethnic-specific variation in genetic, environmental, social and psychological risk factors. In addition, race, ethnicity and social class are important proxies for unmeasured factors that influence health outcomes. Herein, we review salient differences in the etiologies of asthma by race, ethnicity and social class, and argue for their continued use as variables in asthma research.

Keywords:

Papers of special note have been highlighted as either of interest (•) or of considerable interest (••) to readers.

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Financial & competing interests disclosure

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health (HL078885), RWJ Amos Medical Faculty Development Award, NCMHD Health Disparities Scholar, Extramural Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds, 2001–2003, the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute (FAMRI), the Sandler Center for Basic Research in Asthma and the Sandler Family Supporting Foundation. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

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