Environmental Risk Factors for Asthma: A Review of Literature

Abstract

Asthma is a severe respiratory illness affecting all age groups globally. It is estimated that 18% of the population, which is around 262 million people, are affected, experiencing recurrent episodes of wheezing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. It is the main cause of morbidity and mortality in children, measured by school absenteeism, emergency visits, and hospital admissions. For patients with asthma, exacerbations and poor control can result from a complex interplay between genetic predisposition and environmental immunity modifiers that can be grouped as biological and physical factors that include (genetics, endotoxin, pollutants, microbes, and aeroallergens). The psychological environmental factors like stress, neighborhood safety, discrimination, and housing have been noted to influence asthma. The objective of this review is to make a summary of various international literature written on aspects of both home and school environments and their effects on asthma prevalence, and to determine whether the environment plays a great role in achieving control. Literatures from 1995 to 2019 in the area of environment in relation to childhood asthma were identified by use of PubMed and Google Scholar, using the key terms: childhood asthma, asthma, and environmental effects. A reference list of all retrieved articles, related articles, and author names were used to expand the search that was used for this review. A conclusion was made that, despite the various treatment guidelines and medications available, the kind of environment children are exposed to plays a very significant role in attaining control and reducing exacerbations.