Kaplan K M
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Hershey 17033.
Public Health Rep. 1993 Jan-Feb;108(1):66-9.
Asthma affects an estimated 10 percent of the U.S. population and is the most common chronic disease among children. To determine one component of the public health burden of asthma in Pennsylvania, death certificates were reviewed of persons younger than 35 years who died from asthma during the period 1978-87. Blacks had nearly a sevenfold greater risk of death from asthma than whites. The highest death rates were found among black males and residents of the State's two largest urban areas, Philadelphia County and Allegheny County. A total of 67 percent of asthma deaths occurred outside of the health care system or in a hospital emergency department. Although reasons for excess deaths among black urban residents are not well understood, inadequate access to health care may play a role. Deaths from asthma are uncommon, but they are largely preventable. Intensified public health, preventive, and curative strategies regarding asthma need to be directed to the black urban population.
据估计，哮喘影响着10%的美国人口，并且是儿童中最常见的慢性病。为了确定宾夕法尼亚州哮喘对公共卫生负担的一个组成部分，我们查阅了1978年至1987年期间35岁以下因哮喘死亡者的死亡证明。黑人死于哮喘的风险几乎是白人的七倍。最高死亡率出现在黑人男性以及该州两个最大城市地区（费城县和阿勒格尼县）的居民中。总共67%的哮喘死亡发生在医疗保健系统之外或医院急诊科。尽管黑人城市居民中死亡过多的原因尚不完全清楚，但获得医疗保健服务不足可能起到了一定作用。哮喘死亡并不常见，但在很大程度上是可以预防的。针对哮喘的强化公共卫生、预防和治疗策略需要针对黑人城市人口。
