For Immediate Release        Contact:  Jo Ann Faber at  (847) 427-1200
March 15, 2004                                        joannfaber@acaai.org

Asthma Deaths Decline for Fourth Year

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL – Rates of death from asthma in the United States declined in 2000 for the fourth consecutive year according to a report published this month in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI).

The analysis by R. Michael Sly, M.D., of Children’s National Medical Center and The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, D.C., found asthma mortality rates in the United States decreased from 2.1 per 100,000 general population in 1996 to 1.6 in 2000.

Dr. Sly, using data from the National Center for Health Statistics, attributes the decline to improved asthma management and recent decreases in its prevalence. He notes that these decreases could be accounted for only in part by implementation of the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases, which decreased slightly the number of deaths ascribed to asthma.

The consensus guidelines for diagnosis and management of asthma in 1991, and the second Expert Panel Report of 1997, put greater emphasis on the use of inhaled corticosteroids to prevent acute asthma.

Reports indicate stabilization and subsequent decreases in asthma mortality have been associated with increased use of inhaled corticosteroids, as well as long-acting Beta 2-adrenergic agonists and leukotriene antagonists. In addition, the decline in asthma deaths has been attributed to improved disease management, including identification and avoidance of allergic triggers.

Changes in asthma mortality rates coincide with changes in the prevalence of asthma. Annual Health Interview Surveys show increases in self-reported prevalence of asthma that peaked at 55.2 per 1,000 general population in 1995 and subsequently decreased to 34.4 by 1999, when asthma mortality decreased.

Asthma is the sixth leading cause of death for children ages 5 to 14 years of age. Rates of death for asthma have been much higher for blacks than whites. The mortality rates are higher for women than men, but have decreased for both.

The ACAAI is a professional medical organization comprising 4,963 qualified allergists-immunologists and related health care professionals. The College is dedicated to the clinical practice of allergy, asthma and immunology through education and research to promote the highest quality of patient care.