HHS and NHLBI Commemorate World Asthma Day 2003
"Communities Working for Life and Breath:" U.S. Theme
May 6, 2003 marks the fifth annual World Asthma Day, when people
around the world will take action to increase public awareness of
the global burden of asthma and promote better asthma diagnosis
and treatment. This year's theme in the U.S. is "Communities Working
for Life and Breath" to emphasize that asthma affects all members
of a community, not just those with the condition, and that all
communities must fight this potentially life-threatening disease
if progress is to be made. The international theme also highlights
the "Burden of Asthma."
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) at the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) is again the U.S. coordinator for World
Asthma Day and maintains the official U.S. registry of World Asthma
Day participating organizations at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/lung/asthma/wad/index.htm.
According to NHLBI Director Dr. Claude Lenfant, "Asthma is a major
public health problem in the U.S. and throughout the world. World
Asthma Day provides a special opportunity to reach out to people
worldwide to alert them to the burden that asthma places on all
of us. If we join together in fighting asthma, we can have a positive
impact on its prevention, diagnosis, and management."
Asthma ranks
among the most common chronic health conditions in the United States,
affecting more than 20 million Americans. For more than two decades
now, rates of asthma prevalence, deaths, hospitalizations, and emergency
department visits have been increasing in the U.S., especially among
African Americans and children. In 2000, nearly 5,000 Americans
died from asthma, and African Americans were the most likely to
die. In fact, the asthma death rate for African Americans was 3
times higher than that for non-Hispanic whites and 2.7 times higher
than that for Hispanics. The cost of asthma is estimated at more
than $12 billion annually, with direct costs exceeding $8 billion
and lost earnings due to illness and death adding up to nearly $5
billion.
World Asthma Day is an international event coordinated
by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), a project conducted
in collaboration with the NHLBI. On this day, public officials,
health organizations, and patient groups in countries throughout
the world host special activities. In the U. S., hundreds of organizations
are expected to hold asthma education and awareness activities in
May. A list of U.S. organizations conducting World Asthma Day activities
is available on the NHLBI Web site at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/lung/asthma/wad/index.htm
and the GINA Web site at http://www.ginasthma.com.
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