ST. LOUIS (AP) — One in five children has asthma in some of the poorest areas of St. Louis city and county.
That's a far higher rate than the national average. Nationwide, about 1 in 10 children has asthma, a lung disease that causes episodes of breathing difficulty.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/TYIbRX ) reports that four children died from asthma in the city and county in 2009 and 2010 and the ailment has become the leading chronic condition among children, with poor, inner-city minorities bearing the brunt.
The St. Louis Regional Health Commission study released this month shows that black children in St. Louis city and county are 7.5 times more likely than white children to visit an emergency room for asthma.
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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com
