WASHINGTON, DC – While it’s often believed that insurance coverage and access to healthcare providers lead to successful asthma control, a new study presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) debunks this common perception.

 

To investigate the relationship between medical insurance coverage and measures of asthma severity, 153 asthmatic students completed questionnaires for participation in the Denver Public School Asthma Program.

 

One of the most surprising findings was that 58% of students with an identified physician reported using emergency care as compared with 27% of those without an identified provider.

 

Ninety-two percent of the respondents indicated they had a physician caring for their asthma, whereas 89% specified they had medical insurance.

 

Regardless of having insurance or not, Tracy L. Kruzick, MD, and colleagues at National Jewish Health in Denver found uniformly high rates of prednisone use, hospitalization, emergency care and uncontrolled daytime and nighttime symptoms among the sample of students. Low use of inhaled corticosteroids was also noted for those with and without insurance.

 

The study authors concluded that the high percentage of students with uncontrolled asthma, despite insurance coverage and access to health providers, illustrates the need for programs that can identify and monitor children at risk for high asthma morbidity.

 

The AAAAI represents allergists, asthma specialists, clinical immunologists, allied health professionals and others with a special interest in the research and treatment of allergic disease. Established in 1943, the AAAAI has more than 6,500 members in the United States, Canada and 60 other countries.

 

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