World Asthma Day

For Immediate Release:
May 7, 2002

LET EVERY PERSON BREATHE

World Asthma Day 2002 will take place May 7 as a kickoff event to National Asthma and Allergy Month during May. Asthma is a major public health problem in the United States. The disease affects nearly 15 million people, nearly 5 million are under the age of 18.

It is important that every person with asthma be diagnosed, receive appropriate treatment, learn how to manage their asthma, and reduce exposure to environmental factors that make their asthma worse. In Missouri approximately 445,840 adults ages 18 and older have asthma.

According to the National Heart Lung Institute and Blood Institute (NHLBI) asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism. The institute also reports that 1 out of 14 children suffers from the disease. In Missouri emergency room visits are highest among Missourians age 15 and under. In 1999, 32,245 visits to hospital emergency departments and 7,140 inpatient hospitalizations in Missouri resulted from asthma or asthma-related complications.

For more information about asthma go to www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/lung/asthma.

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