Jason Earle

There is almost certainly something unique in the air in Puerto Rico, and it’s not the aroma of tropical beaches, lush forests and mountain streams. Puerto Rico has the highest incidence of asthma – and the highest mortality rate from asthma – of the entire North and Central Americas and the Caribbean.

I’m talking three times the rate of asthma, and 2.5 times the death rate, compared to white non-Hispanic people in the continental US.

Even Puerto Ricans who move to the continental US seem to maintain their penchant for asthma, which some attribute to an unknown genetic factor. I don’t buy that argument. The people of Puerto Rico carry similar lineage to millions of others in the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America. They are a varied mix of indigenous people, Europeans and Africans. The only conclusion I can draw is that there is something in the environment in Puerto Rico that creates a higher propensity for asthma, and whatever it is stays with the person who has acquired it.

We ran a too-brief article on this phenomenon in a recent issue of our seasonal magazine, Habitat Quarterly. I have reposted it elsewhere on this site, so you can read it in either place, though you may find many other interesting tidbits in the magazine.

I can’t help but think that mold has a lot to do with the problem, and I would relish the opportunity to test my thesis and perhaps help a few thousand people in the process.

Whatever the cause, there is no doubt in my mind that it’s something in the air. I would love to find it.