Adults with asthma fail to follow flu vaccine ...( (NORTHBROOK IL September 8 2003) Ad...),Health

(NORTHBROOK, IL, September 8, 2003) Adults with asthma are considered a high risk group for developing complications after contracting the influenza virus, yet the majority of adults with asthma does not receive an annual influenza vaccination, says a study published in the September issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP). The study found that only one-third of all asthmatic adults and one-fifth of asthmatic adults under age 50 follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that recommend asthmatics receive the influenza vaccine annually. The study also found that despite similar recommendations from the 1997 National Asthma Education and Prevention Program guidelines, the vaccination rate among adults with asthma has not improved from 1999-2001.

"Upper respiratory infections like influenza are an important trigger of asthma. Vaccination guidelines for asthmatics were established to help reduce the severe impact influenza can have on patients in this group," said study author Seymour G. Williams, MD, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia. "Initially, vaccination campaigns were aimed at older adults who are more likely to acquire a high risk health condition. The older age groups were easier to target and deliver the influenza vaccinations. It is harder to target and increase vaccination rates among groups younger than 65 years of age with high risk conditions including asthma, hence the overall influenza vaccination rates among persons with asthma are less than optimal."

Researchers from the National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, utilized data from the National Health Interview Survey from 1999-2001 to examine the prevalence of influenza vaccinations among people with asthma. A sample of the United States population participated in the study each year, includi
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Contact: Arielle Green
agreen@chestnet.org
847-498-8387
American College of Chest Physicians
8-Sep-2003

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