One in eight New York City children has been diagnosed with asthma, with poor children nearly twice as likely to suffer from the respiratory disease, according to a report to be posted by the city health officials on Wednesday.
The report was based on a 2009 survey and is the first time the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has estimated the number of children with asthma. The survey of parents found that 177,000 children 12 years and younger—or 13% of children in that age group—had received an asthma diagnosis at some point in their lives.
“New York City’s rate on average is higher, but then within the city we know the rate varies dramatically,” said Thomas Matte, assistant commissioner for environmental surveillance and policy. “Our rate is really pulled up by the high rates” in poor neighborhoods, he said.
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