Dr. Mamudu publishes on asthma prevalence and sexual identity

Dr. Hadii Mamudu, Professor for the Department of Health Services Management and Policy has co-authored an article in Respiratory Care: “Between and within sexual identity-group differences in asthma prevalence in the U.S.”

Dr. Emmanuel Odame, Assistant Professor for the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham is a co-author. He is also an alumnus of the East Tennessee State University College of Public Health. The lead author is David Adzrago of the University of Texas Health Science Center, also an ETSU alumnus. Additional co-authors include members of the University of Texas Health Science Center, Baylor University, The George Washington University, and the University of Tennessee at Nashville.

Although prior studies have established the association of asthma with smoking and obesity, literature on difference-in-differences analyses involving sexual identity is sparse. This study aimed to examine the relationship between and within sexual identity-group differences in asthma prevalence among individuals who smoke and are obese.  The authors aggregated the 2017–2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data on over 100,000 adults to determine asthma prevalence by sexual identity and the status of smoking and obesity.  

About 66.38% of the study population reported having asthma. Among the individuals with asthma, 42.20% were obese, 10.15% were daily cigarette smokers, and 6.22% identified as bisexual. Lesbian/gay daily smokers or former smokers had a higher probability of having asthma than bisexual and heterosexual persons. Within each sexual identity subgroup, daily smokers had the highest probability of asthma. Obese bisexual or lesbian/gay persons had higher probabilities of having asthma than heterosexual persons.

Smoking and obesity show heightened odds for asthma, with significant odds for sexual minorities in asthma diagnosis as compared to heterosexuals. These findings provide formative information for future longitudinal and experimental studies to explore these mechanisms of asthma risks among sexual and gender minorities.