Could resilience resources ameliorate the negative impact of life stressors on asthma in Hispanic/Latino adults in the U.S.?
Published online March 6, 2025
Some life stressors have been associated with asthma and worse asthma outcomes in Hispanic/Latino immigrants. Whether resilience (the relative capacity of an individual to successfully adapt and overcome adversity and stress) ameliorates any detrimental effects of life stressors on asthma in Hispanic/Latino adults is largely unknown.
In a study published in a recent issue of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, Han et al. examined the relationship between life stressors and resilience resources and asthma or asthma symptoms among 4,747 adults aged 18-74 years in the cross-sectional Sociocultural Ancillary Study of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL). Participants completed questionnaires on experiences of life stressors (adverse childhood experiences [ACE], traumatic stress exposure (TSE), and chronic stress [for at least 6 months]) and resilience resources (family cohesion, perceived social support, and spiritual well-being). Logistic regression accounting for sampling methods was used for the multivariable analyses of current asthma and current asthma symptoms.
The researchers found that any ACE and any chronic stress were associated with 54% to 69% increased odds of asthma and asthma symptoms in all individuals, with stronger associations for ACE in men and for chronic stress in women. In a separate analysis, high family cohesion and high spiritual well-being were each associated with 35% to 36% reduced odds of asthma symptoms. Further, there was suggestive evidence of interactions: any TSE was associated with 2.4 times increased odds of asthma in adults with low family cohesion but not in others, while any chronic stress was associated with 2.2 times increased odds of asthma symptoms in adults with low spiritual well-being but not in others.
In summary, this study shows that high family cohesion and high spiritual well-being were associated with reduced odds of asthma symptoms, and that these resilience resources may ameliorate the detrimental effects of two life stressors (TSE and chronic stress) on asthma or asthma symptoms. Clinicians and practitioners could recommend resources for social support for Hispanic/Latino adults with asthma exposed to chronic stressors or adverse events.
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice is an official journal of the AAAAI, focusing on practical information for the practicing clinician
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