Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in the Hospitalization Rate of Asthma among Different Neighborhoods in New Jersey: A ZIP Code Analysis

Often, research on the disparity in asthma is examined at the individual level, therefore, limiting its analysis to the sample. This study is intended to explore disparities at the neighborhood level, which enables the linking of asthma rates at this level to the socioeconomic profile of the neighborhood and to generalize findings to New Jersey population. The population adjusted hospitalization rate of asthma in each ZIP Code in NJ was identified from NJ hospital discharge data (2005-2008) and US Census. The rates of Blacks, Hispanics, poverty level, unemployment, educational level, rental population, and older housing (built before 1939) were obtained from the US Census. The rate of primary care physicians (PCP) in each ZIP Code was calculated from New Solutions Inc's physician data base.

The results of multiple regression analysis show that poverty, black race, education, unemployment, and the availability of PCP, stated in that order of importance, successfully explained the rate of asthma hospitalization by 77%. Poverty was clearly the strongest predictor. The effects of black race and education remained strong after controlling for poverty and the other variables. Contrary to expectation, the effect of PCP availability was positive but minimal as was unemployment. This study found that the disparities among different racial and socioeconomic groups remained strong from 2007-2008 in NJ. The fact that the effect of black race and education remain strong after controlling for all the other socioeconomic factors may suggest that behavioral and life style aspects may interplay with the effects of race and education on asthma.