This prospective birth cohort study (WHEALS) examined whether percent African ancestry (PAA), estimated via genome-wide data, was associated with asthma, allergen sensitization, IgE trajectory (birth–age 10), and lung function at age 10 among 345 self-identified Black, non-Hispanic/non-Arabic children.
Each 10-percentage-point increase in PAA was linked to a 68% higher asthma risk (RR 1.68, 95% CI 1.16–2.45; p=0.007), a 30% higher allergen sensitization risk (RR 1.30, 95% CI 1.04–1.63; p=0.019), and a 2.57% decrease in FEV1 percent predicted (borderline significance, p=0.055); no association was found with total IgE trajectory (p=0.11).
- FEV1 association was borderline (p=0.055), limiting confidence in the lung function finding. - Social determinants of health were included as covariates but residual confounding by unmeasured environmental or socioeconomic factors cannot be excluded. - Sample limited to a single geographic cohort (Wayne County, MI), which may affect generalizability.
Black children with higher African genetic ancestry face meaningfully greater risks of asthma and allergen sensitization—clinicians should maintain a low threshold for early screening and monitoring in this population. Racial disparities in allergic disease are not fully explained by social factors alone; genetic susceptibility appears to play an independent role.
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