TUESDAY, April 13, 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- Free asthma screenings are being offered at more than 350 locations across the United States during May as part of National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month.
More than 73,500 adults and children have attended the screening sessions over the past seven years to find out if breathing problems such as coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath are being caused by asthma. The screenings are offered by the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
More than 20 million Americans have asthma, and about 4,500 die each year due to asthma. But proper treatment lets most people with asthma live healthy, active lives. That's why early diagnosis is important.
Here are some asthma facts:
- Asthma is a chronic inflammation of the lung airways that causes coughing, chest tightness, wheezing, and shortness of breath.
- Asthma cases in the United States have increased 60 percent since 1979 among all ages, races, and genders.
- Death from asthma is especially high among black Americans, who have an asthma-related death rate at least four times greater than whites.
- Asthma accounts for 470,000 hospitalizations and 100 million days of restricted activity each year in the United States. Asthma is the most common chronic childhood illness, causing about 10 million missed school days each year.
- Direct medical costs associated with asthma in the United States are about $7.4 billion a year. Indirect costs, such as lost work days for adults suffering with asthma or caring for children with asthma, are about $5.3 billion a year.
More information
Here's where you can find the asthma screening dates and locations.
