Public healthAsthma cases rising, researchers do not know why
Despite efforts in the United States to improve air quality, recent research shows that asthma rates are on the rise, leaving public health officials baffled; on Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that from 2001 to 2009 an additional 4.3 million people had been diagnosed with asthma; in 2001, 7.3 percent of the United States suffered from asthma, but in 2009 that number grew to 8.2 percent; black children saw the largest increase in asthma rates, growing nearly 50 percent over the last decade
Asthma cases rising, including pediatric cases // Source: theecologist.org
Despite efforts in the United States to improve air quality, recent research shows that asthma rates are on the rise, leaving public health officials baffled.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that from 2001 to 2009 an additional 4.3 million people had been diagnosed with asthma.
In 2001, 7.3 percent of the United States suffered from asthma, but in 2009 that number grew to 8.2 percent.
Currently approximately twenty-five million people in the United States have been diagnosed with asthma and in 2005 it was responsible for the deaths of more than 3,000 Americans.
In a statement, Paul Garbe, chief of the CDC’s Air Pollution and Respiratory Health Branch, said, “Despite the fact that outdoor air quality has improved, we’ve reduced two common asthma triggers - secondhand smoke and smoking in general — asthma is increasing.”
Asthma cases increased among all ages and demographic groups, but affected children the most with nearly 10 percent suffering from the respiratory condition, compared to 7.7 percent of adults.
In particular, black children saw the largest increase in asthma rates, growing nearly 50 percent over the last decade.
Health officials are still uncertain why asthma cases have swelled.
“While we don’t know the cause of the increase, our top priority is getting people to manage their symptoms better,” Garbe said.
Asthma is a life-long respiratory condition that causes wheezing, tightness in the chest, coughing, and shortness of breath.
Dr. Thomas Frieden, the director of the CDC, said it was critical to reduce the number of asthma cases being diagnosed.
“Asthma is a serious, lifelong disease that unfortunately kills thousands of people each year and adds billions to our nation’s healthcare costs,” he said.
Underscoring the importance of education, Dr. Frieden said, “We have to do a better job educating people about managing their symptoms and how to correctly use medicines to control asthma so they can live longer more productive lives while saving health care costs.”
Asthma attacks are often triggered by allergies, smoke, or pollution but can be mitigated by using prescribed medicines like inhaled corticosteroids.
The CDC study also noted that there was an increase in the cost of treatment.
From 2002 to 2007, the total costs of treating asthma rose by about 6 percent to $56 billion up from $53 billion.
