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| Bay Window : Children and Asthma: Statistics on Asthma |
• The rate of asthma in children less than 5 years of age has risen by 160 percent over the past 150 years. (1)
Over 5.3 million U.S. children less than 18 years of age suffer from asthma. (1)
• Based on a national estimate of asthma prevalence, 1.8 million Californians have asthma, including half a million children. (2)
• Between 1980 and 1994, the prevalence of asthma increased 75% overall and 74% among children 5 to 14 years of age. (3)
• In 1995 there were 42,333 asthma-related hospitalizations in California, 42% of which (17,860) were among children (newborns to 14-year-olds). (2)
• As one of the most common chronic conditions in children, asthma is a leading cause of school absences and hospital admissions for children. (2)
• Asthma accounts for 14 million ambulatory care visits per year and for one in six pediatric emergency visits.(1)
• There were close to 658,000 pediatric emergency room visits in 1999 due to asthma. (4)
• Every year about 40,000 Californians are hospitalized because of asthma. (5)
• The estimated annual rate for emergency room visits among children under age 5 is 137.1 per 10,000--the highest rate of all age groups. (4)
• The estimated cost of treating asthma in those younger than18 years of age is $3.2 billion per year. (3)
• The condition is 26 percent more prevalent among African-American children than it is among their white counterparts, and African-American children experience more severe disability and are hospitalized more frequently as a result of asthma than white children. (1)
• In 1995 the asthma-related death rate for African-American children was 11.5 per million, compared to 2.6 per million for white children. (1)
• Among 5- to 14-year-olds the rate of asthma-related deaths doubled from 1980 to 1993. (1)
• Over 600 people die from asthma each year in California. (2)
• Asthma is the number one cause of hospitalization among children under the age of 15 and it is the first-ranking chronic condition. (4)
• It is the leading cause of school absenteeism attributed to chronic conditions. (4)
Asthma accounts for 10 million lost days of school missed annually. (3)
1. "Breathing Easy: Solutions in Pediatric Asthma." Lauren Raskin, M.P.H. Georgetown University. February 2000. http://www.ncemch.org/policy/asthma.html
2. "Asthma in California: Background of Site/Study." Environmental Health Investigations Branch, California Department of Health Services. http://www.dhs.ca.gov/ps/deodc/ehib/ehib2/topics/asthma.html
3. "Asthma’s Impact on Children and Adolescents." National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/airpollution/asthma/children.htm
4. "Asthma in Children Fact Sheet." American Lung Association. http://www.lungusa.org/asthma/ascpedfac99.html
5. "California County Asthma Hospitalization Chart Book.pdf." Environmental Health Investigations Branch,California Department of Health Services.
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