Asthma

 May is Asthma Awareness Month. As of 2010, about 10% of Maine adults had asthma – Maine continues to have some of the highest adult asthma rates in the country. Half of Maine adults with asthma report that their asthma is not well or very poorly controlled. Almost 27% of Maine adults with asthma report being unable to work or carry out usual activities for one or more days in the past year because of their asthma.

As of 2010, about 8.5% of Maine children had asthma; 29% of these children have asthma that is not well or very poorly controlled. More than one-third (39%) of Maine school-aged children with asthma missed one or more days of school in the past year because of their asthma.

With proper self-management, including regular doctor’s visits, proper medication use, and physical activity, combined with avoiding triggers, people with asthma can live a healthy, productive life with little to no disruption due to asthma. Asthma cannot be cured, but it can be managed.

Visit Maine CDC’s Asthma Prevention and Control Program at http://go.usa.gov/V4d

For more information, visit  http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/Asthma/

Statement by US Health and Human Services’ Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Asthma Awareness Month: http://go.usa.gov/V4U