256929 Prevalence and distribution of environmental hazards associated with asthma in the households of elderly community members in Washington Heights, NYC

Monday, October 29, 2012

Tara McAlexander, MPH (May 2012) , Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY
Matthew Perzanowski, PhD , Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY
Lourdes J. Hernández-Cordero, DrPH , Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY
Robyn R.M. Gershon, DrPH , Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, UCSF Philip R . Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies and UCSF School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA
Background: Asthma prevalence in New York City (NYC) varies dramatically by neighborhood and is highest among low-income communities. Elderly populations represent a particularly vulnerable sub-population; asthma in these populations is often under- and misdiagnosed. Exposure to indoor allergens and consequential allergen sensitization is strongly correlated with asthma morbidity. Exposures to indoor asthma hazards, such as mice, cockroaches, dust, mold and tobacco smoke, may contribute to the asthma burden in elderly populations. Few studies have focused on indoor allergen exposure in elderly populations.

Purpose: This research aims to determine the prevalence of potential household asthma hazards in a lower-income elderly population. This research compares the prevalence of reported asthma hazards in this elderly population with that reported for two population based studies of asthma in children. The prevalence of reported pest sightings from the three study groups will be compared with that reported in the NYC population at large. The goal of this study is to explore the geographic and demographic variations in household asthma hazards in NYC and to contextualize the elderly cohort study results.

Methods: Visual inspections of potential indoor asthma hazards were performed with a photo-illustrated household hazards checklist. The inspections were conducted in 105 households of elderly residents of Washington Heights, NYC. Residents completed a questionnaire reporting the frequency and severity of hazards in their home. Both surveys assessed the prevalence and frequency of asthma hazards in the home such as dust, cockroaches, mice, mold and indoor tobacco smoke.

Preliminary Results: Participant self-report was strongly correlated with the research team identification of mice (p<0.001) and cockroaches (p=0.002) in participants' kitchens and bathrooms. We expect that the distribution of household asthma hazards in this cohort will be high, similar to that observed among our two comparison studies conducted in children and to the NYC population at large.

Learning Areas:
Chronic disease management and prevention
Environmental health sciences

Learning Objectives:
1. Assess the prevalence of household asthma hazards in an elderly population in Washington Heights, NYC. 2. Compare the prevalence of asthma hazards in the elderly cohort with two cohorts of children studies on household asthma hazards in New York City (NYC). 3. Compare the three cohort studies results with the prevalence of household hazards in the NYC population at large.

Keywords: Aging, Asthma

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the project coordinator of this study and have completed all data analysis for this abstract submission.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3086.0: *Poster Session*: Environment Section Student Achievement Poster Session (2 of 2)