Clustering of Asthma Prevalence Around Industrial Complexes in Southcentral Detroit and Dearborn by G.I.S. Method.     From 1993 to 1998, there were 9000 reported cases of asthma from inpatient and outpatient records at Oakwood Hospital.  8300 of those reported cases matched local addresses in the area served by Oakwood Hospital.  Data on racial characteristics, population density, and income levels is obtained from neighborhood blocks of the 1990 census report.  Locations of major industries in the area are obtained from the Toxics Release Inventory.  A geographic information system (G.I.S.) is used to plot where the patients live, so as to identify any clustering of asthma prevalence in the areas served by the hospital.  The asthma cases per block group are normalized to account for differences in background population between block groups.  Readily identifiable clusters of asthma are found close to the industrial installations in Dearborn, especially north, northwest, and southwest of the industries.  Several of the block groups surrounding the industrial installations demonstrate a five-year asthma prevalence between 3 and 9 %.  Some spatial correlation is witnessed between asthma prevalence and median value of a home in a block group.  Little spatial correlation is demonstrated between asthma prevalence and density of African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, or Native Americans.  Dearborn in known to have a large proportion of Arab Americans.  1990 Census Data does not provide specific density information about Arab Americans.  The relationship between asthma prevalence and density of Arab Americans still remains to be studied.  
 
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