Science / Medicine : Smog and the Rise in Asthma

The incidence of asthma is rising dramatically in the United States and pollution is a major reason, researchers reported last week in a large nationwide study.

“There is no question that the number of office visits to physicians for asthma is increasing tremendously,” said Claude Lenfant, director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. “We are faced with a tremendous health problem.”

In the study, the largest of its kind, nearly half of the pediatricians surveyed said they are treating more asthmatic children today than they were five or 10 years ago. Nearly 30% of these doctors said they are now treating more than 10 asthma patients per week.

Pollution was cited as the major reason for the increase in asthma, and nearly half of the parents of asthmatic children felt their children suffered emotionally from the condition. Many of the parents also viewed their child’s condition as life-threatening.