EDUCATION: URBANMAAP

Research Projects: Asthma

3. Gender Difference in Asthma Prevalence

Previous investigations have found gender differenced in the prevalence of asthma. Analyses of the hospitalization and mortality data suggest that females have a higher prevalence of asthma than males. This finding has important consequences for the analysis of the survey data. Last summer in order to investigate whether or not the survey results are representative of a particular school, we compared the asthma prevalence at the Frederick Douglas Academy based on the results of two UrbanMAAP surveys. We found that the prevalence of asthma changed between the two surveys, but when we looked at the demographics of the survey respondents we found that we could account for the difference in asthma prevalence based on the number of female respondents.

The figure shown above, taken from an American Lung Association report clearly indicates that there are gender differences in asthma prevalence. While we do not know what is responsible for these gender differences it is possible that they are related to size, since children also have a higher prevalence of asthma.

Research Question:
Are there gender differences in the prevalence of asthma?

Guiding Research Questions: (pick one).

1. Are these gender differences independent of race/ethnicity?
2. Are there similar gender differences in allergies?
3. Are there similar gender differences in asthma burden?

Additional things to think about:

• Are there lifestyle factors that could influence these gender differences?
• How do your results compare with other studies?

References:

• http://allergy.mcg.edu/news/gender.html
• http://www.acep.org/1,2828,0.html
• http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/press/2001/JULY/010708.htm
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_937000/937393.stm
• http://www.canoe.ca/Health0202/22_asthma-ap.html

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