Asthma Foundation Announces 2008 Asthma Capitals, Knoxville on...( Working with a Doctor is Critical...),Health

Working with a Doctor is Critical for Asthma Control No Matter Where You Live

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For the third time in five years, Knoxville, TN, is ranked the #1 Asthma Capital(TM) -- the most challenging place to live with asthma in the U.S. -- by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA).

Since 2004, AAFA has conducted scientific research to evaluate conditions in the largest 100 metropolitan areas in America and to rank them based on the quality of life for people with asthma in each city. The Foundation reviews 12 factors grouped into three categories: (1) Prevalence factors such as the crude death rate (CDR) for asthma and estimated prevalence of adult and pediatric asthma; (2) Risk factors such as air pollution, pollen counts and public smoking bans; and (3) Medical factors such as the number of asthma medications used per patient and the number of asthma specialists in the area.

Knoxville rose to the top of the 2008 Asthma Capitals rankings due in part to its higher than average annual pollen counts, high pollution, weak public smoking bans and the high use of asthma "rescue" medications per patient. A full report of the rankings for 100 cities, which was sponsored by a grant from AstraZeneca, is available a http://www.AsthmaCapitals.com. AstraZeneca is pleased to sponsor this research to highlight healthcare policy important to people with asthma, and to highlight environmental triggers in local communities. For the last 20 years, AstraZeneca has helped millions of people manage their respiratory conditions through discovery and development of asthma treatments.

Dr. Bob Overholt, a Board Certified Allergist in Knoxville, and a national expert on asthma, is not surprised. "Everyone in the medical community in Knoxville sees first-hand how this area affects asthma patients," said Overholt. "It's not just a spring or fall p
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