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Asthma & Children

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  • Asthma can be a life-threatening disease if not properly managed. In 2003, over 4,099 deaths were attributed to asthma. However, deaths due to asthma are rare among children. The number of deaths increases with age. In 2003, 154 children under 15 died from asthma compared to 671 adults over 85.1
  • Asthma is the third leading cause of hospitalization among children under the age of 15. Approximately 38 percent of all asthma hospital discharges in 2004 were in those under 15, however only 21% of the U.S. population was less than 15 years old.2
  • In 2002, 641,242 emergency room visits were due to asthma in those under 15.3
  • In 2004, asthma accounted for an estimated 14 million lost school days in children. It is the leading cause of school absenteeism attributed to chronic conditions.4

1. National Center for Health Statistics. Report of Final Mortality Statistics, 1979-1998. 1999-2003.
2. National Center for Health Statistics. National Hospital Discharge Survey 1979-2004.
3. National Center for Health Statistics. National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2003. (Analysis by the American Lung Association, Using SPSS and SUDAAN software).
4. American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, Allergy and Advocate: Fall 2004. Available here.
 

Asthma Health - News Alerts

Activists back drive for Illinois Clean Car Act

Supporters hold rally in Chicago for anti-pollution bill in state legislature

By Emily S. Achenbaum |Tribune reporter
November 17, 2008
Supporters of the proposed Illinois Clean Car Act rallied Sunday in downtown Chicago with the hope that state legislators will pass a bill they say would help significantly decrease air pollution in Illinois.

More than 50 people, including several Loyola University Chicago and Northwestern University students, braved light snow flurries at the Kluczynski Federal Building's plaza to hear speakers make brief but vigorous comments in support of the bill's passage.

According to the Environmental Law & Policy Center, which does environmental advocacy work across the Midwest and is based in Chicago, House Bill 3424 would make the state adopt what they say are clean-car standards that would cut emissions.

Advocates of the bill say it would promote the sale of fuel-efficient vehicles in Illinois and, by reducing the pollutants emitted by cars and trucks, would improve air quality and public health. Asthma and allergies, which are increasing among children, are exacerbated by poor air quality, health experts say.

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