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Knoxville Ranks Top Asthma Capital for 2008
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) recently released the top asthma capitals for 2008. For the third time in five years, Knoxville, Tenn., is ranked as the most challenging place to live with asthma in the nation.
The foundation reviewed three categories: 1. prevalence, such as the crude death rate (CDR) for asthma and estimated prevalence of adult and pediatric asthma; 2. risks, 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 has higher than average annual pollen counts, high pollution, weak public smoking bans and a high use of asthma rescue medications per patient.
Dr. Bob Overholt, a board-certified allergist in Knoxville, is not surprised. "Everyone in the medical community in Knoxville sees firsthand how this area affects asthma patients," he said. "It's not just a spring or fall problem anymore. We see asthma patients all year long, and for many reasons."
The city also ranked first in 2004 and 2005.
The top 10 cities for 2008 are:
1. Knoxville, Tenn.
2. Tulsa, Okla.
3. Milwaukee, Wis.
4. Atlanta
5. Memphis, Tenn.
6. Allentown, Pa.
7. Charlotte, N.C.
8. Greenville, S.C.
9. St. Louis, Mo.
10. Greensboro, N.C.
To view the full rankings and complete data for all 100 cities, visit www.AsthmaCapitals.com.
