Asthma and Indoor Exposure to Allergens

Abstract

The increase in the prevalence and severity of asthma over the past 35 years has been observed in perennial rather than seasonal disease and in many different countries. Asthma is now the most common chronic disease of childhood. In many countries, the increase in asthma has been reported in all social classes, but particularly in higher-income groups. In the United States, for reasons that are not clear, the increase has been most marked in population groups of lower socioeconomic status.In the 1990s, African-American children living in large urban areas in the United States have rates of hospitalization and mortality . . .