Allercy and Asthma Health
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Winter 2008

FDA Supports Nonprescription Cough and Cold Medicine Industry's Efforts To Restrict Use in Children

New Statistics on Childhood Asthma

Healthy Tips for the Holiday Allergy and Asthma Season

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LungHealthOnline

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The Official Publication of AAN - MA

New Statistics on Childhood Asthma

New statistics on childhood asthma confirm more needs to be done to bring the condition under better control. Data from the Federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shows:

  • Nearly 60,000 fewer children were hospitalized with asthma in 2006 compared to 1997, but nearly 70,000 more kids were hospitalized with asthma as a secondary diagnosis.
  • About 41% of the 335,000 children with asthma who were hospitalized in 2006 were admitted for their asthma. These hospitalizations accounted for 13.5% of all hospitalizations, excluding newborns, among children for the year.
  • Children from low income communities were 76% more likely to be hospitalized for asthma than children from higher income communities.
  • Asthma-related hospital stays were 1.6 times more common among boys than girls.
  • There were eight asthma-related hospital stays per 1,000 children under one year of age, the highest rate in any age group. Rates declined with increasing age.
  • The hospitalization rates for asthma were highest in the Northeast at 2.7 stays per 1,000 children.
  • The most common principal diagnosis among pediatric stays with a secondary diagnosis of asthma was pneumonia, accounting for 27% of pediatric asthma-related stays.

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