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Despite the improvement of air quality in the U.S. since the enhancement of the Clean Air Act in 1990, exposures to outdoor and indoor air pollution remain a significant risk factor for both the development of asthma and the triggering of asthma symptoms.   Clinical studies have shown that significant asthma exacerbations were attributable to air pollution exposure, as a result of living in densely populated cities with elevated ambient fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and ozone (O 3 ). In their review, Miller and Peden highlight new data on the effects of pollutant exposure on the innate and adaptive immune responses, genetic and epigenetic modifiers of response to pollutants, and potential interventions to mitigate these effects ( J Allergy Clin Immunol 2014; 134(5): 1001-1008 ). Several studies have determined that the effects of air pollution are heightened during the prenatal period.  This suggests that there is greater vulnerability of the growing lungs and the dev...

In the U.S., ethnic minorities and the economically disadvantaged are disproportionately exposed to chronic psychological stressors such as poverty, discrimination and violence. Recent findings support a causal link between exposure to these stressors at the individual or community level and asthma morbidity. Moreover, current evidence suggests that the relation between stress and asthma is complex and partially mediated or modified by environmental exposures, adherence with treatment, co-morbidities and coping mechanisms. In a review article, Rosenberg et al discuss recent findings suggesting potential biologic mechanisms for stress-related asthma, including changes in the methylation and expression of genes that regulate behavioral, autonomic, neuroendocrine, and immunologic responses to stress ( J Allergy Clin Immunol 2014; 134(5): 1009-1015 ). For example, there may be susceptibility genes that predispose chronically stressed youth to both post-traumatic stress disorder and asthma....