Childhood Asthma

Asthma is the leading serious chronic illness of children in the U.S. In 2005, an estimated 6.5 million children under age 18 (almost 1.4 million under age 5) currently had asthma, 3.8 million of which had an asthma attack, and many others have "hidden" or undiagnosed asthma. In 2005, the highest current prevalence rate was seen in those 5-17 years of age (97.2 per 1,000 population), with rates decreasing with age. Overall, the rate in those under 18 (89.0 per 1,000) was much greater than those over 18 (72.1 per 1,000).

Asthma is the third leading cause of hospitalization among children under the age of 15. Approximately 32.6 percent of hospitalizations due to asthma in 2005 were in those under age 15; however, only 27.8 percent of the U.S. population was younger than 15 years of age.

Asthma is the most common cause of school absenteeism due to chronic disease; in 2003, children reporting at least one asthma attack aged 5 to 17 years missed 12.8 million school days due to the disease.

Even though asthma cannot be cured, it can almost always be controlled. For this reason, the American Lung Association has chosen control of childhood asthma as one of its top priorities. Talk to your physician. The better you and your child understand asthma and its treatment, the better you will be able to control it.