Data analysis of climate change, air pollution, asthma + allergy rates, and an allergist shortage

Data Sources and Considerations

1. Daily Temperature data (via NOAA API):

   • Daily minTemp data was collected for each city from 1950-2020
   • Seasons were classified using the following definitions:
     • Spring = Months 3-5
     • Summer = Months 6-8
     • Fall = Months 9-11
     • Winter = Months 12-2
   • “Frost season” length was calculated by determining the difference between the first day in fall and last day in spring with temperature <= 32°F; “Growing season” length was calculated by subtracting “Frost Season” from 365
   • 1995 Stockton, and several years in McAllen had no days in which the temperature was <= 32°F; these years were given a “growing season” value of 365

2. Practicing allergist data (via Medicare Provider Utilization data)

   • Provider practice data filtered by whether or not provider is an allergist
   • Used address to determine which county provider practices in
   • CMS data was joined with census population estimates to determine number of allergists per 100k people in county

3. Air pollution data (via CACES)

   • particulate matter (≤2.5 μm)
   • concentrations are listed as the variable "pred_weight"; units are micrograms per cubic meter for PM2.5
   • Data available from 1999-2015

4. Asthma prevalence data (via CDC)

   • Asthma prevalence data are self-reported by respondents to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).
   • From 1997-2000, a redesign of the NHIS questions resulted in a break in the trend data as the new questions were not fully comparable to the previous questions. Data exists for 1980-96 and 2001-18.
   • 1980-96 source: Moorman JE, Akinbami LJ, Bailey CM, et al. National Surveillance of Asthma: United States, 2001 -2010. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 3 (35). 2012.
   • 2001-18 source: NHIS prevalence tables

5. Ranking of most challenging places to live for people with allergies (via AAFA 2020 report)