Study Suggests Asthma Rates in Inner City Children Higher than Reported

Source

Allegheny University of the Health Sciences via
PR NEWSWIRE

Forums

Related Articles

/ADVANCE/ SAN FRANCISCO, May 16, 1997 -- According to a study presented today at the American Lung Association/American Thoracic Society 1997 International Conference, the prevalence and severity of asthma among inner-city school children may be much higher than currently believed. In addition, "Asthmatic children have a significantly greater number of missed school days," says study author, Salvatore Mangione, M.D., associate professor of Medicine at Allegheny University of the Health Sciences.

"This study was the first step in a project designed to promote asthma self-management skills for students with asthma," says Caitlin Papastamelos, M.D., a pediatric pulmonologist at Philadelphia's St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, who worked with Dr. Mangione on the study.

Asthma is the most common chronic illness and the number one cause for hospitalization and prescribed therapy among children. It has been reported that the prevalence of asthma in school children is approximately 10 percent. The study authors had been noticing a significant increase in the incidence and severity of this illness in children, and suspected the prevalence was much higher.

"We set out to determine the true prevalence, whether the asthmatic children even knew they had asthma and whether the schools knew how many children actually had asthma," says Dr. Mangione. Approximately 1,000 children from two predominantly Hispanic and African American middle schools in Philadelphia were surveyed.

The study revealed that as many as 35 to 40 percent of the school children reported at least one symptom of asthma, a figure much higher than the national average. Only 39.4 percent of all asthmatics had prior awareness of the diagnosis. And, only 10 percent of the cases were known to the school staff, despite the fact that asthmatic children had a significantly greater number of missed school days. Interestingly enough, although asthmatic children had higher rates of absenteeism, academic performance did not appear to suffer.

"These data suggest that asthma adversely affects the child's well-being and school attendance and that the prevalence and severity of asthma among inner-city middle-school children may be much higher than what is currently reported," says Dr. Mangione. For reasons not entirely clear, there is a correlation between poverty and asthma, but not race and asthma. Possible causes are allergens in the house, especially from cockroaches, and problems with psychosocial adjustment resulting from a family life adversely affected by extreme poverty.

Because of these findings, Dr. Mangione believes asthma might need to be added to the roster of mandatory school health screenings which includes tests for hearing, vision and scoliosis. To verify this belief, Dr. Mangione is conducting a statewide survey of school nurses, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania state health department. "We want to determine where asthma is most prevalent in Pennsylvania and assess the level of awareness among school nurses."

According to Dr. Papastamelos, the next step is education. "We plan to continue with our efforts to put into place a full-time asthma education program at the schools, which will address not only asthma self-management skills, but also practical issues and psychological issues which make dealing with this chronic disease so hard," she explains.

CONTACT: Eryn Dobeck, 215-842-4533, or Kathy Eikland, 215-427-5396, both of Allegheny University of the Health Sciences