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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2005.071514v1 96/9/1599    most recent Submit a response View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (5) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Quinn, K. Articles by Wolf, R. L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Quinn, K. Articles by Wolf, R. L. Related Collections African Americans/Blacks Other Child and Adolescent Health Hispanics/Latinos Other Race/Ethnicity Asthma Other Respiratory Health

Kelly Quinn, MPH, Madeleine U. Shalowitz, MD, MBA, Carolyn A. Berry, PhD, Tod Mijanovich, MPA and Raoul L. Wolf, MD

At the time of the study, Kelly Quinn and Madeleine U. Shalowitz were with the Department of Child and Family Health Studies, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, Evanston, Ill. Carolyn A. Berry and Tod Mijanovich are with the Center for Health and Public Service Research, Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University, New York. Raoul L. Wolf is with the Department of Pediatrics, Section for Pediatric Asthma and Allergy, University of Chicago, Ill.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Kelly Quinn, MPH, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Carolina Population Center, 123 West Franklin St, Chapel Hill, NC, 27516-2524 (e-mail: kaquinn{at}email.unc.edu).

Objectives. We examined racial and ethnic disparities in the total potential burden of asthma in low-income, racially/ethnically heterogeneous Chicago schools.

Methods. We used the Brief Pediatric Asthma Screen Plus (BPAS+) and the Spanish BPAS+, validated, caregiver-completed respiratory questionnaires, to identify asthma and possible asthma among students in 14 racially/ethnically diverse public elementary schools.

Results. Among 11490 children, we demonstrated a high lifetime prevalence (12.2%) as well as racial and ethnic disparities in diagnosed asthma, but no disparities in prevalences of possible undiagnosed asthma. Possible asthma cases boost the total potential burden of asthma to more than 1 in 3 non-Hispanic Black and Puerto Rican children.

Conclusions. There are significant racial and ethnic disparities in diagnosed asthma among inner-city schoolchildren in Chicago. However, possible undiagnosed asthma appears to have similar prevalences across racial/ethnic groups and contributes to a high total potential asthma burden in each group studied. A better understanding of underdiagnosis is needed to address gaps in asthma care and intervention for low-income communities.

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