In home exposures linked to increased ER visits for asthma
A new study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open by researchers from the Department of Environmental Health examined reports from tenants in housing across Boston, and found that reports of mold, rodents, and other indoor environmental exposures were associated with higher rates of emergency room visits for asthma-related illnesses.
“The link between healthy housing and asthma has been well established for many years,” explains Zichuan Li, MSc, doctoral student at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and a co-author of the study. “However, its role in driving disparities by race and class has received less attention, and systematically assessing indoor exposures at high spatial resolution across large areas has proven difficult, because of the private nature of the home environment. This study is a substantial step forward in establishing the association between uneven access to healthy housing and asthma disparities.”
In 2023, the Boston Public Health Commission’s report on asthma found that the annual rate of asthma ED visits for Black residents and Latino residents is respectively 9.0-fold and 4.4-fold higher than for White residents, with similar effects for low-income Boston residents.
The study authors note that while housing conditions are a strong contributor to asthma disparities by race, they do not fully explain them. “There are many other ways in which social inequality and structural racism can predispose people to asthma risk, including psychosocial stress, barriers to care, and mistreatment within the health care system,” explains Adam Haber, PhD, Associate Professor of Environmental Health, and co-author of the paper. “But, facilitating access to healthy housing conditions, either by moving, or through repairs—particularly substantive structural upgrades or improvements to reduce inadequate ventilation, dampness and mold, and exposure to pests—not only remediates allergen risks but can also improve psychosocial stressors that contribute to worse asthma outcomes.”
Read the full article in JAMA here.
Li Z, Carryl SS, Samuels EA, Foer D, Haber AL. Tenant Reports of In-Home Asthma Triggers and Adult Emergency Department Use. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(10):e2537874. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.37874
