Asthma cases double but treatment advances

The largest percentage of asthma sufferers are between the ages of five and fourteen

May 7, 1998
Web posted at: 10:04 p.m. EDT (0204 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Asthma cases have doubled in the last 20 years, and they suspect environmental changes are behind the increase, researchers told an American Medical Association briefing Thursday.

"There are more people than ever with asthma, there are more people dying with asthma, the health burden is increasing and it's becoming a major public health problem," says Dr. Stephen Redd of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Asthma now affects 5 percent of the U.S. population.

There were 6.8 million cases recorded in 1980 but that number had risen to an estimate of more than 15 million in 1998, he said.

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Redd said some kind of environmental exposure is probably behind the sudden rise in asthma cases, but the exact cause is not known.

New treatments on the horizon

Doctors who research asthma treatment predict the development of more drugs that focus on the inflammation of the airways before it causes an asthma attack.

"The shift has gone from treating these acute attacks to treating the underlying process," says Dr. Robert J. Meyer of the Food and Drug Administration.

He says new developments include dry-powder inhalers, oral medications, and inhalers that use propellants.

But Meyer says some patients are almost "throwing money away" because they don't know how to use the available drugs. Research shows as many as 70 to 80 percent of people who use inhalers don't use them correctly.

Experts say doctors must coach their patients in using inhalers. Managed care plans put that responsibility on primary care physicians, who must work to stay abreast of new developments in the field.

The experts say patients must also do more to manage their disease, including avoiding dust and cigarette smoke. Children, who make up the highest percentage of asthma patients, must learn more about asthma at an earlier age.

In-Depth Health:

• Asthma

Related stories:

• Harvard study links obesity to asthma - April 26, 1998
• U.S. asthma cases up sharply - April 24, 1998
• Study: Antioxidants may help lung function - April 18, 1998

Related sites:

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

• Mayo Clinic Allergy & Asthma Resource Center
• Food and Drug Administration Home Page
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Home Page
• Allergy and Asthma Support Page
• New England Journal of Medicine - Asthma
• JAMA - The Journal of the American Medical Association
• Asthma Control Home

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

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