Allergens in Inner-City Schools and Childhood Asthma
Allergens in Inner-City Schools and Childhood Asthma
Asthma is a disease that affects more than 12% of Americans under the age of 18 for over 14
 million missed school days per year, and is the number one cause of school absences in
 America. Elementary school children spend 6 to 10 hours a day in school, and most of that
 time is spent in one classroom. The goals of this project are to provide an understanding of
 exposure risk factors specific to the classroom. This is critical, because the classroom
 environment could potentially be considered as an effective target for prevention of
 inner-city asthma morbidity by reducing exposures to many symptomatic children through an
 intervention in the school classrooms.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Grades K-8 the school year following spring recruitment (Ages 4-15)

 -  Attend one of the schools in the fall where permission obtained for classroom
 sampling.

 -  Able to provide assent and parent/guardian able to provide informed consent
 Physician-Diagnosed asthma AND Wheezing in the previous 12 months

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Significant pulmonary diseases other than asthma that might influence test results or
 pose risks (e.g., cystic fibrosis, sarcoidosis, bronchiectasis)

 -  Cardiovascular disease that requires daily medication

 -  Taking a beta blocker

 -  Active smoker

 -  Unable to follow through with study visit or complete study procedures