Pediatric Asthma
Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children. It is an illness that affects the respiratory tract and airways that carry oxygen into and out of the lungs. During an asthma attack, these airways constrict, resulting in wheezing and difficulty breathing. Asthma can affect people of all ages, however it often starts in childhood and is more common in children than adults. Causes of asthma are unknown, however episodes of asthma (asthma attacks) can be triggered by certain environmental pollutants such as air pollution, mold, pets and pet dander, and dust mites. A number of studies have reported links between exposure to air pollution and asthma. Reducing exposure to these pollutants can help prevent symptoms.
In Massachusetts, the rate of pediatric asthma is higher than the national average. Beginning in 2002 and continuing through the present, the MDPH/BEH has tracked the occurrence of pediatric asthma through school health records in students in kindergarten through 8th grade.
For additional information, please read the FAQ.
Getting Information About Pediatric Asthma in Your Community
Did You Know? |
In the 2007/2008 school year, almost 77,000 children in grades K-8 (10.9%) had asthma |
The links on the right toolbar provide access to reports on the prevalence of pediatric asthma in your community. To protect privacy, no information is shown that could identify an individual child.
When reviewing and interpreting pediatric asthma data, it is important to take into consideration the following:
- The data available for pediatric asthma are limited to students in grades K-8.
- A variety of factors can impact asthma rates (e.g., socioeconomic factors). Therefore, when comparing rates across geographic areas, information such as access to medical care must also be considered.
- Prevalence is not age-adjusted. When comparing prevalence estimates across communities, keep in mind that some of the observed differences in prevalence estimates may be due to differences in the age distribution of students in each community.
The number and prevalence of children with asthma can be viewed by selecting from the choices on the right toolbar. For each year of data available, pediatric asthma prevalence estimates are grouped by gender and are compared to statewide prevalence to determine if they are statistically significantly higher, lower, or the same as the statewide pediatric asthma prevalence. In some instances, schools or communities may not be available when selecting data. This is due to the fact that MDPH does not have data available for that school or community in the year selected.
Access Pediatric Asthma Information in Your Community |
Access the following measures for pediatric asthma in your community, by school, and statewide on the right toolbar:
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