Relationship Between Asthma Prevalence and Income Among Canadians

Abstract

To the Editor: Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in Canada,¹ and it has been observed that Canadians with low incomes are at increased risk of asthma.² Based on data from 17 605 participants in the first cycle of the National Population Health Survey (NPHS) in 1994 through 1995, men and women with low incomes had 1.44- and 1.33-fold increases, respectively, in the prevalence of asthma compared with their counterparts with high incomes; however, there was no significant difference observed between middle- and high-income categories.² A much larger sample size of the second cycle of NPHS allowed us to further explore whether the prevalence of asthma increases consistently with decreasing income.