The Prevalence Of Asthma In Children And Young Adults

Asthma is on the rise. The prevalence of asthma in children and young adults has increased dramatically over the past 20 to 30 years. Hospital admissions and deaths, especially of children, have risen everywhere, and today asthma exerts a huge impact on the health not only of Americans but of individuals around the world. It is estimated that as many as 21.5 million Americans suffer from this disease. Thirty-five percent of these are younger than 21 years of age; asthma has become the number one chronic illness of children and the number three chronic disease in the general population. It accounts for approximately 15 million physician office visits, almost 500,000 hospitalizations, almost 1.3 million emergency room visits, and over 10 million