Teoria higienista en la prevención de enfermedades respiratorias alérgicas.
Posición de defensa de la Teoría Higienista, en debate realizado durante la Jornada de Patología Respiratoria celebrado en el COMB, Noviembre 2019
3. “These observations . . . could be explained if
allergic diseases were prevented by infection in
early childhood transmitted by unhygienic contact
with older siblings, or acquired prenatally . . . Over
the past century declining family size, improved
household amenities and higher standards of
personal cleanliness have reduced opportunities for
cross-infection in young families. This may have
resulted in more widespread clinical expression of
atopic disease.”
Family size, infection and atopy: the first decade of
the "hygiene hypothesis”Strachan DP. Thorax. 2000 Aug; 55 Suppl 1:S2-10.
13. Inner-city asthma.
The epidemiology of an emerging
US public health concern.
under 18 years old, US asthma hospitalization rates have
demonstrated dramatic increases" of4.5% per annum during
the 19805.5 Rates for children increased during a time when
total hospitalization rates for children decreased." In re-
sponse to these disturbing epidemiologic trends, reductions
in US asthma hospitalization rates have been targeted as a
national objective," and a National Asthma Education Pr0-
gram (NAEP)-whose goal is to improve asthma care in the
United States-has been established."
A key aspect to many of the recent epidemiologic studies
of asthma has been the identification of subpopulations at
higher risk for morbidity. Among the highest risk subpopu-
lations are raciaVethnic minorities, who are both poor and
reside in the certain urban envtronments.w-" In this report,
the epidemiologic studies that have defined the problem of
asthma in the inner city will beexamined, and directions in
which new research and changes in clinical practice may
positively impact upon this high risk population will be
explored.
GEOGRAPHIC VARlATiONS IN ASTHMA
The special problems of managing asthma in poor urban
populations in the United States have been noted for
decades,":" Only recently, however, have population-based
studies begun to elucidate the magnitude of the risk that
exists for the urban poor living in certain types of city
neighborhoods.
Studies in the world literature have reported asthma in
children and adolescents to be more prevalent in urban
areas as compared to rural area.5•14-18 This relationship of
asthma prevalence to urban status, however, remains some-
what equivocal. For example, a study from South Australia
found asthma prevalence among children ages 5 to 16 years
higher in rural vs urban environments.17
A study of geographic variation of all US asthma deaths
*From the Departments of Health Care Science and Medicine,
George WashIngton University Medical Center and Center for
Health PolicyResearch, George Washington University, Washing-
ton, D.C. (Dr. Weiss); the Division of Allergy, Immunology, and
Transplantation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Dis-
ease, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, (Dr. Gergen); and
the Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine,
Division of General Pediatrics (Emergency Medicine), Bronx
Municipal Hospital Center, (Dr. Crain).
Reprint requests: Dr. DHCS, Rm 28-401, George Washing-
ton University, 2150 Pennsylvania Avenue NWWashington, DC
20037
mortality and hospitalization rates are not evenly distributed
among urban neighborhoods; rather extremely high rates
are concentrated in very small areas of high poverty
commonly termed "the inner city:' Small area analyses of
mortality in Chicago demonstrate that disproportionate
numbers of deaths occurred within a very few Inner-city
neighborhoods.10 As seen in Figure 1, small area analyses of
New YorkCity asthma mortality rates demonstrate similar
findings.9
Asthma mortality rates in 1 New York City
neighborhood, East Harlem, were nearly 10 times higher
thanthe average US rate. Disproportionately high mortality
rates within the inner city appear to be closely correlated
with high hospitalization rates.9
RACElETHNICIlY AND ASTHMA
The inner city in the United States is inhabited by
impoverished people who are disproportionately nonwhite.
This demography raises questions as to whether, race!
ethnicity or socioeconomic status (SES), represents themore
prominent risk factor for asthma morbidity Asthma preva-
lence varies among racialIethnic groups in the United States.
o
o 0.)6-0.11)
-. . 0.64-1.44
•
FIGURE 1. Averageannual asthma death rates per 100,000 population
among New YorkCity residents aged 6-34 years, by neighborhood,
1962-1967.
Weiss KB, Chest. 1992
Jun;101(6 Suppl):362S-67S
30. Conclusions
1.- La “hygiene hypothesis”durant més d’una
dècada va seduir la comunitat mèdica generant
múltiples treballs d’investigació.
2.- Alguns punts de la“hygiene hypothesis”s’han
utilitzats per defensar l’antroposofia i les Escoles
Steiner.