Johns Hopkins researchers, in the largest study to date, will map the genetic code for asthma in people of African descent in hopes of better understanding why the disease and other allergy-related ailments disproportionately afflict that population

Until now, the link between genetics and asthma has been studied using mostly men and women of white European descent. The Hopkins researchers announced that they will leverage data from other genome projects to take the first wide-scale look at how hereditary factors affect African-Americans who have the disease, which causes wheezing and difficulty breathing, and which can lead to death if not treated.