Dr. Alejandro Diaz is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, where he teaches medical Spanish, and a physician–scientist studying lung imaging at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He also studies the respiratory health of the Hispanic/Latino community and is passionate about better understanding the health challenges facing its members.
One of the diseases I treat most from the clinic to the ICU is one called “COPD,” which stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. I also care for many patients from the Hispanic community in my regular practice, and there are specific causes of chronic bronchitis and challenges for treating lung diseases in this community. Dr. Diaz has conducted a study trying to understand lung disease and exposures that affect Latino health. Exposure to cleaning agents has been associated with lung function decline in prior studies, and this may interact with multiple other respiratory risk factors to lead to particular risks for members of the Hispanic and Latino community. This is personal for me, because mi suegra, my beloved mother-in-law, cleans houses professionally, and I want to be sure that she and the many others who work professionally as cleaners minimize occupational risks to their health.
In the study, they looked at data from the SOL study (Study of Latinos), which has 16,415 participants age 18-74. This group included people with Central and South American, Mexican, Cuban, Dominican and Puerto Rican ancestry, and they examined data from the 13,259 patients who had completed a questionnaire about breathing symptoms as well as a basic test of lung function, and evaluated a wide variety of respiratory exposures, including occupation and exposure to cleaning agents. They found significant differences in rates of chronic bronchitis among those of different ancestry, the highest in Dominicans, and that those born in the US had higher rates of chronic bronchitis than those born outside the US. They also found a higher prevalence of chronic bronchitis in those who were exposed to cleaning and disinfecting solutions.
Listen to the podcast episode with Dr. Diaz to learn more. After so many conversations for the Air Health Our Health podcast, I am constantly struck at how science arises from lived experience. That is why it is so important to have physicians and scientists from all backgrounds to help us obtain a more complete understanding of health and health risks. Dr. Diaz initiated this study as a COPD expert and a member of the Hispanic community, working to understand how the mix of exposures faced by that population affects the risk for the disease he studies. This study is not alone in showing a risk of chronic bronchitis from regular exposure to cleaning products, and we certainly need a great deal more science to understand this risk and how to mitigate it. Members of the Latino community frequently face many intersecting risks. Here in Oregon, and across the US, many of us working in the ICU have been struck by how the Hispanic community is affected much more severely by COVID19, for example. Living in more polluted air, in buildings with inferior ventilation, and working in environments with high risk respiratory exposures from diesel exhaust to cleaning solvents, as well as a higher lack of health insurance likely work together to increase risk of disease.
You may have noticed that the Welcome page to this site includes a message in Spanish. That has been my promise to myself to make Air Health Our Health a bilingual project in the future, and I am working my way there. I am going to begin a podcast series in Spanish as well about air quality, since so often language is a barrier to accessing important information. Dr. Diaz has kindly agreed to provide an interview in Spanish as well, so look for that in an upcoming podcast, and share with anyone whom you think may benefit.
To Do:
1- Support more research on health impacts in Hispanic community- one such study is going on in COVID19 in Yakima WA now, funded by the ALA. There is still time to donate to our ALA fundraiser here (before Mar 14, 2021) or here (after March 14, 2021).
2- Donate to the Immigrant Worker Safety Net Fund– help those who generally can’t afford a sick day stay home to care for themselves or relatives
3- Twitch Airways Club Members- be careful when using cleaning agents. Ensure the room is well-ventilated, and perhaps use your cleaning agent as the last item prior to leaving the room. Pay attention if agents any are particularly irritating to you, and avoid them.
References:
Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos
