What is 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.
How does MA EPHT track pediatric asthma?
Pediatric asthma tracking, or surveillance, is the ongoing collection, analysis, and interpretation of asthma data in a population of students. In 2002, Massachusetts was awarded funds from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to track health conditions thought to be impacted by the environment.
Beginning in 2002 and continuing through the present, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health/Bureau of Climate and Environmental Health (MDPH/BCEH) has tracked the occurrence of pediatric asthma through school health records in students who are enrolled in approximately 1,800 public, charter, and private schools serving Kindergarten through 8th grade using an annual survey.
Why does MA EPHT track pediatric asthma?
In Massachusetts, the rate of pediatric asthma is higher than the national average. MDPH/BCEH tracks pediatric asthma to learn how much asthma exists in the state and which communities may have more asthma than others. This enables the MDPH/BCEH to plan targeted public health interventions.
In addition, there are large racial, socioeconomic, and geographic disparities in asthma. Tracking pediatric asthma can aid in identifying populations or areas with inadequate routine medical care and monitoring the burden of asthma, asthma trends, and the effects of asthma on health-related quality of life.
What is the relationship between asthma and air pollution?
Acute asthma attacks can be triggered by indoor and outdoor air pollutants and allergens. Twenty percent of the U.S. population, or nearly 55 million people, spend their days in elementary and secondary schools. In the mid-1990s, studies showed that 1 in 5 of the nation's 110,000 schools reported unsatisfactory indoor air quality, and 1 in 4 schools reported unsatisfactory ventilation, which has an impact on indoor air quality. Indoor air allergens include things like mold. The outdoor air pollutants most commonly linked to asthma attacks are particulate matter and ozone. The U.S. EPA Air Quality Index (AQI) is an index for reporting daily air quality. The AQI tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for you.
Available data on pediatric asthma
Use the Explore Pediatric Asthma Data button at the top of this page to access the following measures for pediatric asthma in your community. Prevalence is the statistic used to measure the amount of pediatric asthma in each school or community. Prevalence in schools is defined as the percentage of enrolled students reported by school nurses to have asthma during a school year. Prevalence in communities is defined as the percentage of students who are residents of the community and enrolled in a Massachusetts public, charter, or private school reported by school nurses to have asthma during a school year. School nurses gather this information from the student’s school health record, physician reports, and parent information forms. For each year of data available, pediatric asthma prevalence estimates 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 because MDPH does not have data available for that school or community in the year selected.
- Pediatric asthma counts and prevalence in public, charter, and private schools
- Pediatric asthma counts and prevalence by geography (community, county, EP Region, EOHHS Region, and statewide)
The most current available data will be shown. Be sure to check the site periodically as new data are added each year. To protect privacy, no information is shown that could identify an individual.