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New Report on Childhood Asthma & Environments
September, 2003

New Report on Childhood Asthma & Environments
Asthma is a major public health problem of increasing importance to state health and environmental agencies. Nearly one in 13 children in the United States has asthma, making it the most common chronic disease among children.
Although the cause of asthma in children is uncertain, environmental factors are thought to contribute to the development of asthma or to trigger attacks. Indoor environmental factors include allergens produced by dust mites; cockroaches; fungi (including mold) and dampness; animal dander, environmental tobacco smoke, and indoor pollutants including building products and combustion byproducts. Outdoor environmental factors of concern include ozone, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, diesel particulates, traffic-related pollution, hazardous air pollutants, pollen, and fungi (including mold).
The Catching Your Breath report contains a vision statement and action agenda that were developed by over 250 representatives of state health and environmental agencies to identify steps states can take to address asthma in children in indoor home environments, schools and childcare facilities, and outdoor environments. Although the focus of this document is on environmental factors that contribute to asthma in children, it is also critical to ensure that every child has the medical care and active support to manage their asthma.
This project was sponsored by the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) in cooperation with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and the State of Alaska. Funding was provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Offices of Children’s Health Protection and Air and Radiation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Environmental Health. Summary of Recommended Strategies To ensure that asthma poses no barriers to a healthy and active life for every child, state health and environmental agencies need to work collaboratively to address environmental factors that contribute to asthma in children.
As a general principle, to improve the environmental health status of children, more attention is needed on the environments where children congregate, such as homes, schools, and childcare facilities. Design, maintenance, and cleaning of buildings are important, as are strategies that reduce outdoor pollutants such as diesel exhaust and air pollution. Additionally, states could help create focused research strategies to better elucidate the relationships between environmental factors and childhood asthma and to identify the most effective interventions. The report identifies six areas of opportunity for state actions, compiled into an action agenda. This document is intended to serve as a menu or blueprint for state action to decrease environmental factors that contribute to asthma in children.
The areas for action are:
· Enhancing coordination and joint action of health and environmental agencies
· Reducing environmental asthma factors in homes
· Reducing environmental asthma factors in schools and childcare centers
· Reducing outdoor environmental asthma factors
· Collecting, using, and integrating health and environmental data
· Continuing research into causes, triggers, and effective asthma control strategies.

To view the full report, visit:
http://envirohealth.berkeley.edu/CYB/cached%20documents/CatchingYourBreathReport.pdf