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Maternal & Child Health > Needs Assessment > Asthma in Children Fact Sheet Asthma in Children Fact Sheet

Healthy People 2010 Goal:

  • To reduce the asthma deaths in children under age 5 years and in children and youth aged 5-14 years to 1 per million populations.

Consequences:

  • Asthma results in chronic illness and restricted activity in children.
  • Asthma results in school absences.
  • Asthma can result in death.

Causes:

  • Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children and is one of the leading causes of missed school days.
  • In most cases cause of asthma in children is unknown. However, many research studies suggested that the asthma is closely linked to the allergy and that children with a family history of allergy and asthma are more likely to develop asthma.

Prevalence in Indiana:

  • Prevalence of asthma is greater in young boys.
  • 30.1% of people with asthma were diagnosed before the age 10.
  • 15.7% of Indiana households have at least one child who has ever been diagnosed with asthma. Of those households, 71.8% reported at least one child who currently has asthma.
  • The hospitalization rate is highest in males, especially among black males under the age 5.

Health Care:

Although asthma cannot be prevented or cured, asthma attacks can be controlled. It is recommended by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) that patients with asthma have at least two scheduled visits annually to care for their asthma. The majority of Medicaid-enrolled children with asthma in Indiana do not receive this recommended level of care. (See Fig.)

Children Asthma Chart
Source: The Burden of Asthma in Indiana, Indiana State Department of Health, Medicaid data.

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