U.S. Asthma Capitals
Today more than 300 million people worldwide are living with asthma, and nearly 25 million of them live right here in the U.S. But for all the talk of the global asthma epidemic, there are plenty of everyday reminders that asthma problems – and solutions – are local. There is no place free from asthma triggers, and some cities are more challenging places to live than others, like Memphis, TN, which has just been named the new top "Asthma Capital" for 2012 by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA).
It's Not Just About Air Pollution
Air pollution isn’t the only trigger for asthma, so to determine the rankings, researchers look at 12 sets of data for the 100 largest U.S. cities including prevalence factors, risk factors and medical factors. Memphis has appeared on the Foundation's list for several years, including as #3 on last year's list. Factors such as high pollen counts, poor air quality, frequent ozone days, no public smoking bans, high use of asthma medications all contributed to Memphis' rise on the list to the #1 spot this year.
To create the rankings, AAFA assesses the 100 largest U.S. cities based on air pollution, ozone days, pollen counts, medication utilization, poverty rates and even public smoking laws – 12 factors overall – to produce a truly intimate profile of each city illustrating how challenging it is for people with asthma. Then, AAFA scores and ranks the cities based on the factors.
Asthma Triggers: Gain Control
Americans spend up to 90 percent of their time indoors. Indoor allergens and irritants play a significant role in triggering asthma attacks. Triggers are things that can cause asthma symptoms, an episode or attack or make asthma worse. If you have asthma, you may react to just one trigger or you may find that several things act as triggers. Be sure to work with a doctor to identify triggers and develop a treatment plan that includes ways to reduce exposures to your asthma triggers.
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