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Running Head: Asthma incidents

Exercise #2

Trends in Childhood Asthma: Prevalence, Health Care, Utilization, and Mortality

Marvin Merriweather

SOWK 300

Tuskegee University

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

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Abstract

The objective is to use the national data to produce a comprehensive description of trends in

childhood asthma prevalence, health care utilization, and mortality to assess changes in the

disease burden among US children. Five data sources’ from the National Center for Health

Statistics were used t describe trends in asthma for children aged 0-18 years of age to the most

recent year for which data was available. Asthma prevalence increased by an average of 4.3%

per year from, 1980 to 1996 from 3.6% to 6.2%. Recent data suggest that the burden from

childhood asthma may have recently plateued after several years of increasing, although

additional years of data collection are necessary to confirm a change in trend. Racial and ethnic

disparities remain large for asthma health care, utilization, and mortality.
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1. Problem Identification:

Asthma is the leading childhood illness in the United States and defined as a chronic

inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and reoccurring symptoms that

include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. Asthma affects different

races in their own individual way.

Asthma is a childhood health problem that numerous children and their families face. In my

data tables I will look closely at asthma and how it affects children and their families. My tables

analyze data ranging from asthma incidences among children under the age of eighteen, asthma

attack prevalence, as well as the annual asthma mortality rate as it relates to age, race, and

gender.

2. Problem Description:

Although asthma is a major cause of childhood disability, and in rare cases causes premature

death. Asthma morbidity and mortality are largely preventable when patients and their families

are adequately educated about the disease and have access to high quality health care. According

to the data collected on the asthma table the average mortality rate for African Americans is

considerable higher than other races.

This further shows how the African American race should better educate themselves on

asthma and ways to stay healthy so they won’t have to worry about getting it. Amongst African

Americans the mortality rate in 1997 was 10.1per 100,00 children under the age of 18 years of

age while white non Hispanics were considerable lower at 2.2 deaths per 100,00 under 18 years

of age. Ways that may alleviate this problem would be educating the people of all races about
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this disease and helping them to stay healthy; you also have to alleviate the obesity epidemic to

decrease the chances of a person developing this disease.

I feel from a economic prospective this affects the propagation of African Americans

because the more the United States debate over health care the less of a focus will be placed on

educating the minority groups who depend on that health care on a day to day basis. If the

government decides to pull away from cheaper health care, and African Americans being the

major minority group, it will put those individuals with asthma who depend on government

assisted health care to rely solely on less adequate facilities, as well as medication.

I think that a way to solve this issue of high asthma incidences among African American

children would be to first help educate the African American community about the history of

asthma and how to better ways to prevent incidents. Secondly I fell that it is the responsibility of

the government to find ways to either provide better and less expensive health care system for

minorities as well as African American who suffer from illness such as asthma. Furthermore I

feel that the government should also take responsibility in providing all communities with better

health care facilities that help put focus on continuing treatment with illness such as asthma so

the individual and family are always aware of the dangers of asthma if left untreated

3. Findings:

According to table 18.7 on asthma incidence among children under the age of eighteen the

total number of males and females who reported an incidence of asthma were almost similar

numbers, while by race the number of white who reported an incidence of asthma was

substantially higher than any other ethnic group. The tables also break down information into

several categories. One area that was helpful in my analyzing of the information is the Mortality
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rate. It’s rare to hear someone talking about dying from this disease but when you are properly

informed on the disease you don’t know how to take care of yourself, and the risk. This also

shows how having health care may play a huge role in the type of treatment you may receive.

A. Magnitude

Through the research and the data collected in following tables, it’s believed that Asthma is the

leading chronic childhood illness in the United Sates. One of the reasoning’s for this is believed

to be the patients and families being inadequately educated about the disease and don’t have

access to high quality health care. This only leads to poor outcomes for childhood asthma, such

as hospitalizations and deaths, are at least partially sensitive to the quality of ambulatory health

care.

Asthma prevalence among children ages zero to seventeen has increased from 36 per

1000 children to 75 per 1000 from the year 1980 to 1995. This affects the all ethnic groups.

With the main focus surrounded around African American. Due to the fact that given

information in data table one, it is clearly stated that African Americans seem to have

substantially high number of occurrence of asthma incidence than any other ethnic group.

Data table four looks closely at the mortality rate of asthma incidents in children under

the age of eighteen. In the white community the mortality rate had its lowest death rate at only

1.0 death per 1,000,000 children in 1985-1986 and it highest in 1995-1996 with 2.4 deaths per

1,000,000 children. While in the African American community it lowest mortality rate was 4.1 in

1985-1986 and al so had it highest in 1995-1996 with 11.7 deaths per 1,000,000 children.

I feel it is safe to conclude from the information given in data table four that African

American children under the age of eighteen have a higher mortality rate compared to white and
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other ethnic groups is due to the fact that there is another factor that plays a role in the situation.

There is not enough evidence inside my data tables to reach a conclusion on what the exact

variable may be. We can take in to account that the magnitude of asthma mortality rate are more

prevalent in the African American community, but we can also so it affect other ethnic groups

just not at the extent as African Americans.

B. Scope

The Childhood asthma hospitalization rate grew slowly form 1980-1999, by an average of 1.4%

per year. Asthma hospitalization rates increased to a much greater extent among black children

than white children. The hospital rate among black children was 3.6 times the rate of white

children (table 3).

Although asthma prevalence was lowest among the youngest children, hospitalization rates were

substantially higher among 0-4 year olds, and increased more rapidly compared with other

children. After 1996, asthma hospitalization rates plateued among all age groups.

Asthma death rates increased by an average of 3.4% per year from 1990 to 1998 (Fig 1 Table 4).

After reaching of 3.8 per 1,000,000 children in 1996 the childhood asthma death rate declined

18% in 1997 to 3.1 per 1, 000, 00 children, black non Hispanic children had the highest death

rates and the greatest increase overtime. Black non Hispanic children were 4.1 times higher and

white children were 4.6 times higher than what the rate of blacks was.

Asthma mortality trends over time were generally similar among all age groups, but 11-17 year

old children had asthma death rates approximately twice those of younger children.
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Changes

Table three outlines the average annual asthma hospitalization rate per 10,000 children

younger than eighteen years old. The table covers the year 1980 to 1999. The data three shows

that between 1980up until 1999 the annual asthma hospitalization of children with asthma under

eighteen ranged from as low as 21.6 per 10,000 children in1980 to as high as 31.7 in 1995-

1996In the whit community the average annual asthma hospitalization rate only averaged a low

of 15.5 in the year 1998-1999. The high for white Americans peeked out at 19.0 in 1985-1986.

On the other end of the spectrum asthma rates for African- American children increased to a

much greater amount than white children

The lowest hospitalization rate among African-American children according to table

three came in the year 1980-1981 where a total of 45.5 per 10,000 children hospitalized. This

number increased and plateued in 1995-1996 where the hospitalization rate for African-

Americans was nearly five times higher at 71.0 per 10,000 compared to white children at only

16.0 per 10,000.

Age also plays a significant role in asthma hospitalization for children under the age of

eighteen. Table three breaks down the age range into three groups. Those groups are zero to four

years old, five to ten years old and eleven to seventeen years old. In the age group eleven to

seventeen, the lowest rate of hospitalization was at its lowest rate at 11.6 in 1980-1981 and only

increased to a high of 14.8 in 1990-1991 and 1995-1996. Younger children seemed to be more

affected by asthma hospitalization and were substantially higher in the age group zero to four

years old. The hospitalization rate in this age group increased more rapidly over time than those

of the other age groups. The lowest recorded rate for the younger age group was at 38.0 per
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10,000cases and had a constant increase until it peaked at a high of 59.7 hospitalizations in 1995-

1996.

D. Disparities

Through analysis of my researched statistical data tables I have found that the disparities related

to asthma incidence in children under the age of eighteen can be closely related to race as well as the

individual’s social economic status. Given all information in the following tables I feel it is safe to say that

prevalence, morbidity and mortality rates are considerably higher and more prevalent among minorities

and African American children compared to white children.

The mortality rate can be connected to the social economic status of minorities and African

Americans as a whole. Due to the fact that African American are considered the minority to the white

community blacks are associated with poverty. Being associated with poverty makes it more difficult for

those children and their families to afford adequate resources for asthma treatment. This could

eventually result in those African American and minority children with asthma to receive inadequate

treatment which they are less likely to receive care in a quality setting, and continuing of care and are

less likely to receive proper treatment.

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References

Akinbami, L. J., & Schoendorf, K. C. (2002). Trends in Childhood Asthma: Prevalence, Health Care

Utilization, and Mortality. PEDIATRICS, 110, 315-322. doi:10.1542/peds.110.2.315

National Center for Health Sta,. (Year, Month. Day ). In Asthma Incidence Among Children Under 18

Years of Age by Selected Characteristics: 2007. (chap. Summary Health Statistics for U.S.

ChildrenNational Health Interview Survey) Retrieved Sep. 13, 2010,

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