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The asthma levels continue to increase for the kinds in the South and for the poor ones.
A new study published in the online journal Pediatrics on December 28 showed that the asthma rates are decreasing among American children. But that is not all. The study discovered that among poor kids, asthma rates continue to increase.
Lead author of the study, Lara Akinbami, said that while the asthma rates have stopped increasing in some parts of the country, the South discoveries for example prove that the numbers continue to be alarming.
In formation from the National Health Interview Survey from 2001 to 2013 was used for the study. The researchers focused mostly on the asthma cases for children of maximum 17 years old. They looked at 150,000 children’s data and found out that asthma rates increased from 2001 to 2009, remained the same until 2013, and then started to decrease.
According to the data they collected, the Puerto Rican kids had the highest asthma rates, while among the white children, the asthma rates stayed normal. The children from the South, the ones with ages between 10 and 17 and the poor children had increased levels of asthma. The increase among the poor is caused by increased exposure to environmental factors. These factors include: stress, smog, smoke, mold, dust mites and cockroaches.
There is one good news though. The difference between the black and white races has disappeared. In the past, the asthma rates were increasing among colored children. In 2001, the black children had a 30% higher risk of getting asthma than the white children, and in 2011 it grew to 100%. Now the racial discrepancy is basically gone.
Cary Sennett, the CEO and president of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, said that the poor and the minorities are struggling the most and that programs need to be developed in order to help these children. She also recommended that a closer eye should be kept on asthma’s triggers like mold and air quality.
These are the signs that you might have asthma: chest tightness or pain, shortness of breath, a whistling or wheezing sound when you exhale and trouble sleeping caused by coughing, shortness of breath or wheezing. If you experienced any of these symptoms, you should go your doctor immediately.
In the United States, asthma affects one in 12 adults (25 million Americans) and accounts for 9 deaths every day and 479,300 hospitalizations. Among poor kids, asthma rates continue to increase, and that is mostly because their parents aren’t better educated. As more and more programs will bring awareness and will help these asthmatic children, we are hoping for better results next year.
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