Surveillance for asthma--United States, 1980-1999.

PROBLEM/CONDITION: Asthma, a chronic disease occurring among both children and adults, has been the focus of clinical and public health interventions during recent years. In addition, CDC has outlined a strategy to improve the timeliness and geographic specificity of asthma surveillance as part of a comprehensive public health approach to asthma surveillance. REPORTING PERIOD COVERED: This report presents national data regarding self-reported asthma prevalence, school and work days lost because of asthma, and asthma-associated activity limitations (1980-1996); asthma-associated outpatient visits, asthma-associated hospitalizations, and asthma-associated deaths (1980-1999); asthma-associated emergency…