Missourians not managing their asthma effectively

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Adult Missourians with asthma aren't doing an effective job of managing the disease, a government report issued Tuesday said.

The Missouri Asthma Prevention and Control Program said that 52 percent of Missouri adults with asthma had experienced at least one asthma attack in the past 12 months.

Adults with asthma must do more to take care of their health, said Terry Keck, manager of the prevention program in the state Department of Health and Senior Services.

"We continue to teach Missourians that even one asthma attack is too many; that effectively managing your asthma means avoiding attacks," Keck said.

"The fact that so many Missourians reported having at least one asthma attack and that more than 18 percent sought emergency treatment concerns me."

The study found that nearly 19 percent of adult asthma patients visited an emergency room or urgent care center in the past year because of their asthma.

About 40 percent said they had not seen a doctor, nurse or health professional in the past 12 months for a routine asthma check up.

The findings were based on data collected last year by the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

Last year, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services received federal money to plan a coordinated approach to Missouri's asthma problems.

That funding was used to create the Missouri Asthma Prevention and Control Program.

"This new data clearly illustrates that we have significant work ahead of us," Keck said. "Asthma is stealing the breath of far too many Missourians."

Keck said there are several ways to effectively manage asthma, including visiting a doctor often, taking medications regularly and monitoring the warning signs associated with asthma attacks.

"In 2000, more than 30,000 Missouri emergency department visits were a result of asthma-related complications and more than 80 Missourians died from asthma," Keck said. "We simply have to get these numbers down."

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On the Net:

Department of Health and Senior Services: http://www.dhss.state.mo.us.