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Fact Sheet: EPA's Asthma Research Results Highlights Report
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a report which highlights significant contributions to science and real-world applications to reduce the burden of asthma. Scientists have advanced our understanding of how and why asthma is on the rise and our understanding of what induces and exacerbates the disease. This report provides an overview of studies that are particularly noteworthy because of their contribution to applications that decrease asthma suffered by individuals and improve understanding and associated prevention and treatment strategies. The research information will help educate the public on the health effects of asthma and provide a tool for Agency representatives to use in communicating recent research accomplishments with a variety of general science audiences.
Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease characterized by difficult breathing, wheezing, and coughing and disrupts the lives of an increasing number of afflicted Americans. Airborne particles and gases, present in different combinations in both indoor and outdoor environments, may play a role in the onset and exacerbation of asthma by influencing the biological processes that trigger asthma attacks and increase the severity of symptoms in people with the disease. Because allergies can lead to asthma attacks in many people, EPA studies often focus on how environmental factors affect allergic responses. In 2001, more than 20 million Americans had asthma, 6.1 million of which were children. From 1980 to 1994, the proportion of Americans suffering from asthma increased by 75%; in children, the proportion grew by 160%. Asthma also affects some minorities and low-income populations disproportionately.
The President's Task Force on Environmental Health and Safety Risks to Children selected asthma as one of our childhood diseases to target. In response, a coalition of U.S. government agencies launched a cooperative effort to better understand and combat asthma. EPA's 2002 Asthma Research Strategy defines our three high-priority asthma research areas which are highlighted in this report: (1) introduction and exacerbation of asthma by pollutants, (2) susceptibility and vulnerability factors, and (3) intervention and mitigation methods. EPA conducted research in our facilities, and additional research was also conducted in cooperation with universities and other organizations. Despite good progress in research, significant uncertainties remain, and EPA will continue to pursue research aimed at better understanding susceptibility to asthma and gene environment interactions, reducing uncertainties in risk assessments for pollutants that induce or exacerbate asthma, and developing new and better strategies to prevent environmentally related asthma.
EPA's research findings include: (1) exposure to air pollutants such as ground-level ozone can put both children and adults at greater risk of developing asthma and that ozone and particulate matter affect people with asthma more severely than healthy people; (2) exposure to criteria pollutants from vehicle emissions at levels below the National Ambient Air Quality Standards and exposure to metals, such as copper and zinc found in particulate matter, can promote the development of common allergies (e.g., dust mite allergies) that are strongly associated with asthma in children; (3) exposure to molds commonly found in indoor environments indicates that certain molds are potent allergens and may play a major role in the study of causes and effects of asthma. As a result, more effective exposure assessment for molds and mold cleanup methods have been developed; and (4) identification of genes that may be important in determining the susceptibility of individuals to pollutants that might cause asthma are currently under further study.
"EPA's Asthma Research Results Highlights," EPA 600/R-04/161, May 2005, is available for download. A limited number of paper copies will be available after printing.
To receive a copy, please contact:
EPA's National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP)
P.O. Box 42419
Cincinnati, OH 45242
telephone: 1 (800) 490-9198 or (513) 489-8190
facsimile: (513) 489-8695
Contact:
Ann Brown
Office of Research and Development
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Research Triangle Park, NC
Tel: 919-541-7818
Brown.Ann@epa.gov.