Asthma Tapers Off
Aug. 12, 2002 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It appears that
despite the rise in asthma cases in the last two decades,
the disease seems to be leveling off. A new study by several
government agencies indicates the number of cases stopped
growing from 1997 to 2000. In the 1980s and for much of the
1990s, cases rose 4.3 percent per year.
One positive finding is that while the proportion of
children with asthma has steadily risen, asthma attacks have
not. The researchers say the greatest disparity within the
disease is still between races. In the United States, about
5 million children have asthma. Between 1995 and 1996, the
incidence of asthma grew 26 percent more in black children
than in white children.
While asthma deaths are rare, the death rate increased by
an average of 3.4 percent per year through 1998 and began to
decline in 1997. Death rates were similar in whites and
Hispanics but were more than four times higher among blacks.
Researchers write, "Black, non-Hispanic children had the
highest asthma death rates and the greatest increase over
time."
The doctors are hesitant to say their research shows a
trend. They say further research must be done before coming
to that conclusion.
SOURCE: Pediatrics, 2002;110:315-322
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