To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Study Finds Many Factors Behind Increased Asthma URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/1EB56.htm Doctor's Guide February 21, 1997
February 21,1997 - In the largest asthma study ever completed of children in the inner city, researchers supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) found a wide variety of factors, rather than one single cause, responsible for the dramatic increase in asthma morbidity. Asthma has been increasing in the United States over several decades. This increase is most apparent among children, especially those living in the inner city. Approximately 15 million Americans suffer from asthma. Annually, in the United States, about 500,000 asthma-related hospitalizations occur and 5,000 people die. NIAID recently completed the first five-year phase of its National Cooperative Inner-City Asthma Study with more than 1,500 children, ages 4 to 11, living in inner cities. Nearly 75 percent of these children were African-Americans and 20 percent were Hispanic. The researchers found that asthma morbidity was related to environmental exposures, such as indoor allergens and passive cigarette smoke, to psychological problems of both the children and their caretakers, and to problems with access to medical care and appropriate medications. In the study, asthma was more severe in the approximately 50 percent of the patients who reported significant barriers to access to medical care. Families in inner cities face a wide variety of problems related to poor housing, lack of insurance, and to difficulties in accessing medical care and referrals to smoking cessation programs, among other issues. In view of the study findings, scientists developed a broad-based intervention centered around the use of an asthma counselor, who was a trained social worker. The counselor did not provide medical care or interact with the patient's physician, but instituted educational, behavioral and environmental interventions tailored to the specific needs of individual children and their families. These efforts resulted in significant reductions in symptoms and doctor visits for asthma. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.