(Bethesda, MD, Tuesday, May 3, 2022) – Asthma is a chronic airway disease characterized by periodic worsening of inflammation that can make it harder to breathe. This potentially life-threatening condition affects more than 25 million people in the United States, including more than 5 million children.

As the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute kicks off Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month in May and marks World Asthma Day on May 3, Dr. Michelle Freemer discusses the important advances in preventing, understanding, treating, and managing asthma.

Here’s why this research is important:

• Asthma is one of the country’s most common and costly diseases.
• Women are more likely to have asthma than men.
• Boys are more likely to have asthma than girls.
• Blacks and Puerto Ricans have highest rates of asthma nationwide.

While there’s no cure for asthma, it is a manageable chronic disease and improvements in asthma management have helped reduce asthma incidence and deaths in recent decades. NIH researchers and NIH-supported scientists are working toward more personalized treatments for asthma and ultimately a cure.

Recent studies show:

• Asthma and COVID-19: During the pandemic, asthma attacks—also known as asthma exacerbations—have significantly decreased in a large group of children and adolescents aged 5-17 compared to the year before the pandemic. Researchers believe a better understanding of the factors that contributed to these improved outcomes could lead to better asthma control in children and adolescents. Researchers also found that asthma does not increase the risk of becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
• Asthma and disparities: Black and Hispanic children who live in low-income urban environments in the U.S. are at particularly high risk for asthma attacks. Researchers have known for decades that social determinants of health—conditions like housing, neighborhood, education, income, and healthcare access—can affect quality-of-life and health outcomes related to asthma. NIH scientists are reporting new advances in understanding the relationship between social determinants of health and asthma that could help improve asthma care in this high-risk group.
• Asthma and environmental exposures: Recent research found that prenatal exposure to tiny air pollution particles significantly increases the risk for developing asthma in children.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI): NHLBI is the global leader in conducting and supporting research in heart, lung, and blood diseases and sleep disorders that advances scientific knowledge, improves public health, and saves lives. For more information, visit www.nhlbi.nih.gov. For additional information about NHLBI’s asthma resources, visit www.nhlbi.nih.gov/breathebetter.