Cockroach May Be Culprit In Urban Kids’ Asthma
Cockroaches have been identified by researchers as a potential explanation as to why childhood asthma is more prevalent in some urban neighborhoods than others.
In New York City neighborhoods where asthma is common, Children are exposed to higher levels of cockroach allergens, which makes them more likely to be sensitized to it, according to the study published online in the Journal of Clinical Immunology.
Asthma among children in New York City neighborhoods varies anywhere from 3% to 19%.
In the past, heavy traffic, industrial incinerators and other outdoor air pollution sources have been blamed as potential contributors to asthma across the city, reports Reuters.
The new study by Columbia University has found that cockroach allergens, along with mouse and cat allergens, were significantly higher in homes located in neighborhoods where asthma is more common; and, that children in these neighborhoods were twice as likely to carry antibodies against a cockroach protein in their blood, which made kids likely allergic to them.
“Cockroach allergen really could be contributing to disparities in asthma prevalence, even in an urban environment like New York City,” says lead author Matthew Perzanowski to Reuters Health.
Perzanowski and his team of researchers recruited 239 children ages seven and eight through the middle-income HIP Plan of New York. The effort was part of the ongoing New York City Neighborhood Asthma and Allergy Study.
One hundred twenty children lived in high asthma prevalence neighborhoods and 119 from low-prevalence areas. Reuter reports that more than half of the children already had asthma.
Along with collecting dust from the children’s beds, researchers also measured allergen exposure through blood sample to look for antibodies against various allergens associated with asthma. These included cat, dog, mouse, dust mite, and cockroach proteins.
The results found that cockroach, mouse and cat allergens were more prevalent in the bed dust taken from the homes in high asthma neighborhoods compared with low asthma neighborhoods. Furthermore, sensitivity to cockroach allergen was twice as common at 23% versus 10%.
“Our findings demonstrate the relevance of exposure and sensitization to cockroach, mouse, dust mite, and cat in an urban community and suggest that cockroach allergen exposure could contribute to the higher asthma prevalence observed in some New York City neighborhoods,” Perzanowski said in a statement.
Dr. Joanne Sordillo at the Channing Laboratory, affiliated with both Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School reviewed the findings for Reuters Health, and noted that kids who are allergic to cockroaches and mice were more likely to have asthma.
“Mouse or cockroach allergen exposure may increase the risk of allergic sensitization (allergies), which is in turn related to the development of asthma in children,” she said.
Cockroaches leave behind proteins that can be inhaled by people, and can lead to an allergic reaction that can increase the chance that a person will develop asthma, explains Perzanowski.
However, when it comes to cat allergies, Perzanowski says “it’s complicated.” Some past studies have found that kids in homes with cats were more likely to be allergic, but the current study says that having a cat did not predispose kids to asthma, reports Reuters.
“Avoidance of cats doesn’t seem to reduce your risk of developing asthma.
But the study does provide “further evidence that cockroach exposure is part of the story,” says Perzanowski.
“Cockroach allergen really could be contributing to disparities in asthma prevalence, even in an urban environment like New York City.”
The study suggests that controlling cockroaches may help to eliminate some of the disparities. But Perzanowski says that parents don’t want to spray tons of harmful chemicals that could “have detrimental effects.”
Instead, Reuters says that there are simpler steps like sealing up any cracks, and removing food and water sources for the insects.
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