Dallas County is introducing a new tool to help track pediatric asthma risk factors by ZIP code.
Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) launched the online interactive dashboard on Thursday in partnership with Parkland Health and Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation.
The dashboard, called the Pediatric Asthma Surveillance System (PASS), will aid Dallas County residents in assessing which areas are high on the pediatric asthma vulnerability index. Southern Dallas seems to have higher risk factors, while Northern Dallas has comparatively lower risk.
The vulnerability index is calculated based on “socioeconomic conditions, demographic characteristics, medication use patterns, health services utilization, and environmental conditions,” according to the DCHHS website.
Other key risk factors for asthma include lifestyle and health concerns such as obesity, one of the most pressing public health problems in the country. Dallas-Fort Worth is particularly prone to this risk, with one of the highest obesity rates among major U.S. metro areas.
The index will rate different areas from Very High Risk to Very Low Risk.
While the DCHHS dashboard is geared toward predicting pediatric asthma risk, the data it utilizes are not solely derived from the pediatric population.
The dashboard will also help researchers understand the causes of asthma and why some populations are apparently at a higher risk of contracting it.
The need for tracking asthma risk has increased in recent years. According to the Cleveland Clinic, “Asthma is the leading cause of chronic illness in children. It affects about 7.5 million children in the United States. The rate of the condition in children is steadily increasing. It’s also one of the main causes of missed school for children and missed work for parents.”
Some symptoms of asthma that parents should look out for are “episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and nighttime or early morning coughing,” according to the DCHHS website.
The Cleveland Clinic provided several theories for why pediatric asthma rates are increasing, including “exposure to more allergens, such as dust, air pollution, and secondhand smoke.” In addition, some children may have weaker immune systems due to less childhood illness and lower rates of breastfeeding, which helps support the immune system.