U.S. children are experiencing fewer asthma attacks and asthma-related hospital visits, according to a Vital Signs report from the CDC.
For the report, CDC researchers examined survey data compiled by the agency from 2001 to 2016. Over that time period, the number of children who experienced an asthma attack in the previous year declined from 61.7 percent to 53.7 percent. From 2003 to 2013, asthma-related annual hospitalizations for children dropped from 9.6 percent to 4.7 percent. Still, more than 50 percent of children with asthma experienced at least one attack in 2016.
"We are making progress — but healthcare providers, parents, caregivers and schools can do more to help children avoid asthma attacks," said Anne Schuchat, MD, acting director of the CDC. "Asthma attacks can be terrifying for children and their families. Over the past decade, we've identified asthma management actions that work — not alone but in combination. Now we need to scale up these efforts nationwide."
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