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| For more information contact: Amy Wenmoth, Epidemiologist For immediate release Asthma Hospitalizations Increase Among West Virginia Elderly Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that affects people of all ages. West Virginians who are 65 years of age and older are more likely to be hospitalized and to die from asthma complications than younger adults and children. A new statistical brief released by the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health, Asthma Among West Virginia Elderly: Brief No. 17, presents the most recent statistics about asthma among West Virginians aged 65 and older. According to the Behavioral Risk Factor Survey, a random telephone survey of adults, West Virginia had the second highest rate of elderly asthma in the nation in 2004. Approximately 1 in 10 (10.3 percent) West Virginians aged 65 and older had asthma, compared with 7.4 percent of elderly nationwide. Unmanaged asthma can result in symptoms that lead to poor health, hospitalization and even death. Between 1996 and 2004, the asthma hospitalization rate among West Virginia elderly more than doubled but remained relatively stable among younger West Virginians. More than 150 West Virginians aged 65 and older died of asthma between 1999 and 2004 - an average of 26 deaths per year. Asthma hospitalizations and deaths are drastically higher among elderly females than males. With proper medication and avoidance of environmental triggers that may cause an asthma attack, asthma symptoms can be well managed, reducing the risks of hospitalization and death. For additional information about asthma, contact the West Virginia Asthma Education and Prevention Program at (304) 558-0644 or online at http://www.wvdhhr.org/bph/oehp/asthma/default.htm. This statistical brief, which presents additional detailed information on elderly asthma prevalence, hospitalizations, and mortality, can be obtained from the West Virginia Health Statistics Center at (304) 558-9100 or online at http://www.wvdhhr.org/bph/oehp/hsc/vr/publicat.htm. – 30 – |