BMJ 1996;313:1260 (16 November)

Letters

Study in London confirms influence of ethnic group on treatment for asthma

EDITOR,--Enric Duran-Tauleria and colleagues report that children from ethnic minority groups were less likely to be prescribed drugs for their asthma than were inner city white children and those from English and Scottish representative samples.1 Although reporting by parents may not be reliable or accurate,2 particularly across ethnic groups, and the authors' investigation was limited to children aged 5-11, this work has important implications.

We took a different and perhaps broader approach, using the City and East London general practice database. We hold data on ethnicity, derived by proportional allocation of data from the 1991 census to the postcode distribution of patients on practice lists,3 and data on prescribing for asthma (prescribing analysis and cost (PACT) data) for all practices in east London from 1992 to 1994.4 Our results confirm that significantly lower rates of prescription of drugs for asthma occur in practices with higher percentages of patients of Afro-Caribbean . . . [Full text of this article]


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Relevant Article

Influence of ethnic group on asthma treatment in children in 1990-1: national cross sectional study
Enric Duran-Tauleria, Roberto J Rona, Susan Chinn, and Peter Burney
BMJ 1996 313: 148-152. [Abstract] [Full Text]

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