Child Opportunity Index at birth and asthma with recurrent exacerbations in the US ECHO program

Abstract

Background: Environmental exposures and social determinants likely influence specific childhood asthma phenotypes.

Objective: We hypothesized that the Child Opportunity Index (COI) at birth, measuring multiple neighborhood opportunities, influences incidence rates (IRs) for asthma with recurrent exacerbations (ARE).

Methods: We tested for COI associations with ARE IRs in 15,877 children born between 1990 and 2018 in the ECHO (Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes) program. Parent-reported race and ethnicity and other demographics were assessed as effect modifiers.

Results: The IRs of ARE for children born in very low COI neighborhoods was higher (IR = 10.98; 95% CI: 9.71, 12.25) than for other COI categories. Rates for non-Hispanic Black (NHB) children were significantly higher than non-Hispanic White children in every COI category. The ARE IRs for children born in very low COI neighborhoods were several-fold higher for NHB and Hispanic Black children (IR = 15.30; 95% CI: 13.10, 17.49; and IR = 18.48; 95% CI: 8.80, 28.15, respectively) when compared to White children. Adjusting for individual-level characteristics, children born in very low COI neighborhoods demonstrated an ARE IR ratio of 1.26 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.59) with a higher incidence of cases among children ages 2 to 4 years and with a parental history of asthma.

Conclusions: Rates of ARE were higher among children born in under-resourced communities, and this relationship is strongest for young minoritized children with a parental history of asthma. Higher rates for NHB even in the highest COI categories suggest that risk associated with race persists regardless of social disadvantage.

Keywords: Asthma; child opportunity index; environmental and social determinants of asthma; incidence rates; recurrent asthma exacerbations.