Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 
Case Studies in Environmental Medicine (CSEM) 

Environmental Triggers of Asthma
More Information

CDC/ATSDR Resources

The following online resources concerning asthma are provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry www.cdc.gov/atsdr
  • For chemical, emergency situations
    • CDC Emergency Response: 770-488-7100 and request the ATSDR Duty Officer
  • For chemical, non-emergency situations
    • CDC-INFO (www.bt.cdc.gov/coca/800cdcinfo.asp)
    • 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) TTY 888-232-6348 - 24 Hours/Day
    • Email: cdcinfo@cdc.gov

    PLEASE NOTE: ATSDR cannot respond to questions about individual medical cases, provide second opinions or make specific recommendations regarding therapy. Those issues should be addressed directly with your health care provider.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Environmental Health. Potentially effective interventions for asthma.

  www.cdc.gov/asthma/interventions/

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Environmental Health, Emergency & Environmental Health Services Branch. Healthy Homes Initiative

  www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/Topics/HealthyHomes.htm

  www.healthyhomestraining.org/index.htm

• Environmental Hazards and Health Effects – Asthma

  www.cdc.gov/asthma/default.htm

• National Asthma Control Program

  www.cdc.gov/asthma/nacp.htm

• NIOSH Safety and Health Topics: Asthma and Allergies

  http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/asthma/

• National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; Healthy Youth Health Topics - Asthma

  www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/asthma/

Other Online Resources

The following online resources provide detailed asthma and allergen control and prevention strategies.

• American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. Online course on the environmental management of asthma.

  www.aaaai.org/members/cme_ce/environmental_management/notice.asp

• American Academy of Pediatrics

  www.aap.org/healthtopics/asthma.cfm

• National Asthma Education and Prevention Program

  www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/lung/index.htm#asthma

• The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation, Pediatric Asthma Initiative

  www.neefusa.org/health/asthma/index.htm

• National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Asthma and allergy prevention.

  www.niehs.nih.gov/airborne/prevent/alert.html

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Asthma and indoor environments—health care professionals.

  www.epa.gov/asthma/hcprofessionals.html

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2004. Asthma home environment checklist. EPA 402-F-03-030.

  permanent.access.gpo.gov/websites/epagov/www.epa.gov/asthma/resources.html

Additional Government Publications

The following government publications on asthma may be helpful:

• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. 1997. Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma. Bethesda (MD): National Institutes of Health. No. 97-4051.

  www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/asthma/asthgdln.pdf

• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. 2003. Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma—updates on selected topics 2002. Bethesda (MD): National Institutes of Health. No. 02-5074.

  www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/asthma/index.htm

• Williams SG, Schmidt DK, Redd SC, Storms W. 2003. Key clinical activities for quality asthma care. Recommendations of the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program. MMWR 52(RR-6): 1–8.

  www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5206a1.htm

• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Work-related lung disease surveillance report 2002. DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2003-111, 2003, p191.

  www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2003-111/2003-111.html

• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Global initiative for asthma: global strategy for asthma management and prevention. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health

  www.ginasthma.com.

Suggested Reading

The following publications on asthma may be helpful:

• Bernstein DI, Chan-Yeung M, Malo J-L, Bernstein IL, eds. Asthma in the Workplace and Related Conditions, 3rd Edition. New York: Taylor and Francis, 2006.
• Etzel RA. 2003. How environmental exposures influence the development and exacerbation of asthma. Pediatrics 112(1):233–9.

  http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/112/1/S1/233

Other CSEMs

Case Studies in Environmental Medicine: Environmental Triggers of Asthma is one monograph in a series. For other modules in this series, please go to: www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/