Asthma & Children Fact Sheet

(for information on our Asthma Action Plan, please click here.)

Asthma is a chronic inflammation of the airways with reversible episodes of obstruction, caused by an increased reaction of the airways to various stimuli. Asthma breathing problems usually happen in "episodes" but the inflammation underlying asthma is continuous.

• Asthma is the most common chronic disorder in childhood, currently affecting an estimated 6.2 million children under 18 years; of which 4 million suffered from an asthma attack or episode in 2003.
  
  
• An asthma episode is a series of events that result in narrowed airways. These include: swelling of the lining, tightening of the muscle, and increased secretion of mucus in the airway. The narrowed airway is responsible for the difficulty in breathing with the familiar "wheeze."
  
  
• Asthma is characterized by excessive sensitivity of the lungs to various stimuli. Triggers range from viral infections to allergies, to irritating gases and particles in the air.  Each child reacts differently to the factors that may trigger asthma, including: respiratory infections and colds; allergic reactions to allergens such as pollen, mold, animal dander, feathers, dust, food, and cockroaches;
  vigorous exercise; exposure to cold air or sudden temperature change; cigarette smoke; excitement/stress; and exercise.
  
  
• Secondhand smoke can cause serious harm to children. An estimated 200,000 to one million asthmatic children have their condition worsened by exposure to secondhand smoke.
  
  
• Asthma can be a life-threatening disease if not properly managed. In 2002, over 4,000 deaths were attributed to asthma. Fortunately, deaths due to asthma are rare among children and increase with age. In 2002, 170 children under 15 died from asthma compared to 675 adults over 85.
  
  
• Asthma is the third leading cause of hospitalization among children under the age of 15.  Close to 39 percent of all asthma hospital discharges in 2002 were in those under 15, however only 21% of the U.S. population was less than 15 years old.
  
  
• In 2002, 641,242 emergency room visits were due to asthma in those under 15.
  
  
• Current asthma prevalence in children under 18 range from 5.7% in South Dakota and Idaho to 11.9% in Delaware.
  
  
• Within the last few years, mortality and hospitalizations due to asthma have decreased and asthma prevalence has stabilized, possibly indicating a higher level of disease management.
  
  
• Asthma medications help reduce underlying inflammation in the airways and relieve or prevent airway narrowing. Control of inflammation should lead to reduction in airway sensitivity and help prevent airway obstruction.
  
  
• Two classes of medications have been used to treat asthma -- anti-inflammatory agents and bronchodilators. Anti-inflammatory drugs interrupt the development of bronchial inflammation and have a preventive action. They may also modify or terminate ongoing inflammatory reactions in the airways. These agents include corticosteroids, cromolyn sodium, and other anti-inflammatory compounds. A new class of anti-inflammatory medications known as leukotriene modifiers, which work in a different way by blocking the activity of chemicals called leukotrienes that are involved in airway inflammation, have recently come on the market.
  
  
• Bronchodilators act principally to dilate the airways by relaxing bronchial smooth muscle. They include beta-adrenergic agonists, methylxanthines, and anticholinergics.
  
  
• In July of 2003, The Food and Drug Administration approved a new drug for patients with serious asthma. Xolair, is the first in a new class of therapies that are bioengineered to target IgE (the antibody behind allergic asthma) in the treatment of allergic disease.
  
  
• The annual direct health care cost of asthma is approximately $11.5 billion; indirect costs (e.g. lost productivity) add another $4.6 billion, for a total of $16.1 billion dollars. Prescription drugs represented the largest single indirect cost, at $5 billion. The value of lost productivity due to death represented the largest single indirect cost at $1.7 billion.
  
  
• In 2003, asthma accounted for an estimated 12.8 million lost school days in children. It is the leading cause of school absenteeism attributed to chronic conditions.
  
  
• The American Lung Association funds a wide variety of asthma research. The American Lung Association-Asthma Clinical Research Centers (ACRC) network is an American Lung Association-sponsored research program seeking to develop large clinical trials that will provide useful information important to the direct care of people who have asthma. The network, with 20 clinical centers and a data coordinating center, is the largest of its kind and seeks to conduct large practical clinical trails that will provide useful information about asthma that will directly benefit patients.  This work involves large numbers of subjects, making the focus of the network different from current federally funded and commercial research. Thus, the ACRC is playing a unique and important role in asthma research.

For more information on asthma, please review the Asthma Morbidity and Mortality Trend Report in the Data and Statistics section of www.lungusa.org or call the American Lung Association at 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872).

Sources:

National Center for Health Statistics. Raw Data from the National Health Interview Survey, U.S., 2003.  (Analysis by the American Lung Association, Using SPSS and SUDAAN software).

EPA: Respiratory Health Effect of Passive Smoking, 1993

National Center for Health Statistics. Report of Final Mortality Statistics, 2002.

National Center for Health Statistics. National Hospital Discharge Survey 2002 and data provided upon special request to the NCHS.

National Center for Health Statistics. National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2003. (Analysis by the American Lung Association, Using SPSS and SUDAAN software).

National Center for Health Statistics.  Raw Data from the National Survey of Children's Health through State and Local Area Intergrated Telephone Survey, 2003.

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Chartbook, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Health, 2004.

National Center for Health Statistics. Raw Data from the National Health Interview Survey, U.S., 2003.  (Analysis by the American Lung Association, Using SPSS and SUDAAN software).