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)