Do churches cause asthma? That’s the wierd conclusion of a sweeping study of 287 Chicago neighborhoods published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The results show that communities with more churches and not-for-profit facilities, and where residents are less likely to move, have higher rates of asthma than those with plenty of restaurants, entertainment, cultural facilities, and ethnic diversity.

Asthma, which afflicts more than 9 million kids nationwide, is the number one chronic childhood illness. Chicagoans suffer twice the national asthma mortality rate.

So what’s with churches? In fact, their association with asthma is likely to be only indirect. Previous studies have shown that asthma and other chronic illnesses of childhood are associated with poverty. This study confirms that the disease is more prevalent in communities with lower economic potential. In addition, it suggests that in areas where people are less likely to move, homes may be less likely to receive thorough cleanings. That, in turn, could mean indoor pollutants known to trigger asthma build up. Houses that harbor cockroaches, dust mites, and rodents pose the greatest danger.

“Previous studies showed that neighborhoods right next to each other with similar racial makeup had very different asthma rates,” said Ruchi Gupta, MD, MPH, a researcher at Children’s Memorial Hospital, who led the study. “We wanted to see what else was going on in each neighborhood to cause such a disparity. So we looked at specific factors in each neighborhood.”

The take-home message, however, isn’t clear. If the results are right, parents of young children would do well to move to culturally-vibrant neighborhoods. Many can’t afford the higher rents or housing prices, of course. The real key to preventing asthma is likely to be eliminating poverty–no easy task. Short of that, parents should be encouraged to thoroughly clean the house. That’s a chore, but doable.

Tags: asthma, neighborhoods, poverty