Pregnant Smokers May Put Kids At Risk For Severe Asthma

(CNN) -- One of the first questions a mom-to-be is asked by her doctor is "Do you smoke?" And while pregnant woman don't smoke in nearly the numbers they did decades ago, some still do. Almost 14 percent of American women smoke while pregnant, according to the Centers for Disease Control, causing all kinds of problems including low birth weight, premature birth and SIDS. Now add something else to the list: asthma...

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Obama administration working to close racial, ethnic gap on asthma

WASHINGTON, May 31, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Today, U.S. federal agencies unveiled the Coordinated Federal Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Asthma Disparities. White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Nancy Sutley, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Shaun Donovan discussed the new plan during an event at Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC), which houses The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington along with other community groups...

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National asthma observational survey of severe asthmatics in Israel: the no-air study

Asthma is considered a global public health issue requiring a significant medical expenditure as a result of its high prevalence and the low rate of disease control.ObjectiveThis is the first nationwide survey of severe asthma patients carried out in Israel. In this study we aimed to improve our understanding of the disease characteristics and treatment in a subgroup of patients with severe asthma in Israel.Material and MethodOne hundred and twenty-three patients with a diagnosis of asthma for more then one year, as well as a hospitalization during the last 12 months due to asthma exacerbation or maintenance systemic steroids therapy, were included in this non-interventional observational study...

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