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Connecticut Adopts Asthma Tracking

Press Release

Kids - Asthma

The Connecticut Legislature has passed a landmark bill that will initiate the tracking of asthma among school aged children in the state of Connecticut. This Bill makes Connecticut one of the first states, if not the first, to put asthma tracking into effect.
Environment and Human Health, Inc., (EHHI), a Connecticut environmental group dedicated to protecting human health from environmental harms, conducted a survey of asthma prevalence among school-aged children in Connecticut last year. Since their report was released this past fall, they have been a leading proponent of a statewide effort to track the prevalence of asthma among school age children.

"When we track asthma by school and school district, the research community can take a closer look at what kinds of things are going on," said Nancy O. Alderman, president of Environment and Human Health, Inc.

"If we are to reduce the impact of asthma in children, health planners need reliable information on the presence of disease in the different Connecticut communities", said David Brown, public health toxicologist and past Chief of Environmental Epidemiology at the CT Department of Health.

In EHHI's Report, "A Survey of the Prevalence of Asthma Among School Age Children in Connecticut," it was noted that 1 out of 11 children in Connecticut have asthma.

This report also noted that nationwide the prevalence of asthma increased 75% for all age groups from 1980 to 1994 and for school-age children under 5 years of age, it rose 160% in that same period.

Connecticut's new legislation, will allow the tracking of asthma throughout the State and will in turn provide researchers, health planners, and towns, to get a better handle on this disease.

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