Race-Neutral Formulas Improve Asthma Detection in Black Children

TUESDAY, March 4, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Race plays a role in whether a child is quickly and accurately diagnosed with asthma, a new study suggests.

Outdated and flawed studies previously led to the belief that white children had “naturally higher” lung function compared to other races, researchers said.

Diagnostic procedures based on that assumption have caused asthma to be dramatically underdiagnosed among Black children, researchers reported Feb. 28 in JAMA Open Network.

About 2.5 to 4 times more Black children with asthma symptoms are diagnosed with reduced lung function when doctors use updated formulas, or equations, that exclude race, researchers found.