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Asthma is a chronic lung disease that affects 28 million Americans (AAFA). Symptoms of asthma include shortness of breath, chest tightness/pain, wheezing, and coughing (Mayo). There is no real difference in life expectancy for people with asthma, as it is very treatable and not deadly (Health Grades). Asthma is an extremely complex disease compared to most genetic conditions since it occurs via multiple gene mutations and external environmental factors (NIH). Its mode of inheritance is unknown, as it is neither dominant nor recessive, but polygenetic (NIH).

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Asthma is important to research and understand for multiple reasons. First, it is very common, affecting 28 million Americans (AFAA). Creating more effective treatments will have a wide-reaching impact. Secondly, understanding the disease will greatly benefit children whose lives are disrupted by the disease. While it is more common in adults, asthma is still prevalent in children (NIH). Asthma attacks following children exercising result in hospital visits and missed school, Finally, asthma has been proven to disproportionately affect Black and Brown people, as well as senior citizens and citizens of low-income neighborhoods (AFAA). This has a lot to do with pollution in urban environments. Eliminating systemic injustices will surely contribute to decreasing the impact of asthma.

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Asthma is unique in its genetic mutation. Unlike diseases like sickle cell, where one gene is identified as the mutation responsible, asthma is the result of many genes mutating (NIH). The most common gene associated with asthma is ADAM33, which is expressed in muscle and lung cells (NIH). Among the hundreds of genes associated with asthma, ORMDL3 and HLA-DQ genes are linked to childhood and adult-onset asthma, respectively (NIH).

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Asthma is an extremely common disease and affects about 1 in 12 people in the U.S (AFAA). As mentioned before, asthma's highest rates are seen in Black adults (AFAA). This is the result of over-pollution in cities and systemic racism. Globally, over 260 million people are affected (GAR).

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There are three main tests for asthma: FeNO, spirometry, and peak flow test (NHS). They involve blowing into a machine that measures different aspects of your breathing. FeNO measures the amount of nitric acid in your breath to test for inflammation (NHS). Spirometry measures the amount of air you can expel, and peak flow test measures how fast you can breathe (NHS). Treatment can involve anti-inflammatory medication, allergy shots, and inhalers (Mayo).

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One current studying focusing on asthma in the United States was conducted this year by Cynthia A. Pate and Hatice S. Zahran and is called The Status of Asthma in the United States (NIH). Its goal is to gain a better understanding of the status of asthma and potentially create "effective strategies to improve health and quality of life among people with asthma" (NIH).

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Peer Reviewed: The Status of Asthma in the United States

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Asthma imposes a substantial health and economic burden on patients and their families and on the health care system. An assessment of the status of asthma in the US may lead to effective strategies to improve health and quality of life among people with…

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Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America https://aafa.org

European Respiratory Journal https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/erj/14/5/1210.full.pdf

Global Asthma Report https://globalasthmareport.org

Healthgrades https://www.healthgrades.com

Mayo Clinic https://www.mayoclinic.org

National Health Service https://www.nhs.uk

National Instituit of of Health https://www.niaid.nih.gov/diseases-conditions/asthma