Asthma Facts

• Nearly 25 million Americans currently have asthma.
• Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease, affecting about 1 child in every 10.
• The disease affects people of any race, age or gender.
• African Americans have the most difficulty, particularly women and children.
• Currently, 4 million African Americans have asthma.
• Medical researchers have found that having a family member who has allergies or asthma, or being exposed to certain things in the environment, can increase the chance a person will develop asthma.
• Certain factors indicate that many asthma-related deaths and hospitalizations are preventable when asthma is properly managed. For instance, people with asthma need to avoid environmental factors that make asthma worse, recognize early warning signs of worsening asthma, recognize the severity of an asthma episode, take appropriate medications as prescribed, and seek prompt medical help when problems occur.
• More women are hospitalized for asthma than men, and African-Americans are hospitalized from asthma three and one-half times more than whites.
• Asthma is the most common chronic disease among children affecting more than 4 million in the United States.
• In addition to racial disparities, differences in gender prevalence are also striking. Adult women are greatly affected by asthma more than men.
• The American Lung Association reported that 12.9 million females were diagnosed as asthmatic, a 19% rate higher than men.
• In 2006, 529 per 100,000 African American women died as a result of asthma, compared to 414 per 100,000 men.