Key Facts:
- Asthma is the most common serious chronic disease of childhood, affecting nearly nine million children in the United States.
- Children with asthma cough, wheeze, experience chest tightness and shortness of breath. Many parents do not realize that a chronic cough may be the only symptom of asthma and that a child does not have to wheeze to have asthma.
- Up to 80% of children with asthma develop symptoms before age five.
- The two most common triggers of asthma in children are colds and allergies.
Statistics:
- Nine million children under 18 have been diagnosed with asthma.
- Asthma rates in children under the age of five have increased more than 160% from 1980-1994.
- In 2000, there were 10.4 million asthma-related outpatient visits to private physician offices and hospital clinics (4.6 million of these involved children under 18).
- There were 1.8 million asthma-related visits to emergency departments in 2000 (more than 728,000 of these involved children under 18).
- There were 465,000 asthma-related hospitalizations in 2000 (214,000 of these involved children under 18).
- More than 14 million school days are missed annually due to asthma.
New Research:
- Sub-optimal asthma control in many patients worldwide, with long-term management falling far short of the goals in international asthma guidelines (JACI July 2004; Rabe et al).
- Airway inflammation and remodeling occur early in the natural history of severe asthma (JACI Jan. 2004; de Blic et al).
*DISCLAIMER
This site is not meant to diagnose your condition. The information here does not necessarily pertain to all individuals and should not replace the advice of your physician. Please contact your doctor with any questions.