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April 24, 1998 Asthma Rates in U.S. Increase More Americans than ever before say they are suffering from asthma, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 1993 and 1994, an average of 13.7 million persons reported that they experienced asthma-related conditions. Based on trends for the past 15 years, CDC estimates that today more than 15 million Americans suffer from asthma. The increase in asthma cases and deaths affects all ages, spans across all racial groups and occurs throughout the U.S. However, higher rates of hospitalization and emergency room visits were reported in the northeast; and blacks reported higher rates of emergency visits, hospitalization and deaths. In a special CDC report entitled, "Surveillance for Asthma -- United States, 1960-1995", CDC studied asthma from the perspective of how often people reported they had asthma; visited either their doctor's office or the emergency room; or were admitted to the hospital for treatment. Finally, researchers examined the number of asthma deaths that occurred throughout the U.S. Asthma is a chronic lung disease characterized by temporary obstruction of airflow that leads to breathing difficulty, coughing, inflammation of the airways, and an increased sensitivity to a variety of triggers that can cause breathing difficulty. CDC researchers also found that the overall picture of asthma is changing, and today's report recommended a comprehensive national monitoring system to identify these emerging trends on a state-by-state basis, especially to understand why some areas have lower rates of emergency room visits and hospitalization. "Asthma is a complicated illness that adults and children live with daily. To prevent asthma, we need a better understanding to unravel the mysteries of why some people develop it and others do not," said Claire V. Broome, M.D.,Acting Director of CDC. "Promoting healthy home environments and sharing proven prevention strategies with health care providers to define the problems and causes is a key step towards prevention of this serious illness." Other key findings in this report included:
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