Friday, July 09, 2004

Olympian scale asthma epidemic The good news is that many athletes are rising to Olympian levels despite their asthma; the bad news is that asthma appears to be shockingly high among athletes: The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) (http://www.aafa.org) says that nearly 20 percent of athletes competing in Athens have asthma. Research conducted at U.S. universities and published in medical journals since the 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002 Olympic Games suggest that asthma prevalence is growing among top athletes. "Asthma affects 20 million Americans, and many of them suffer from exercise-induced asthma (EIA), the most common type of asthma among Olympians," according to Mike Tringale, spokesperson for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), a non-profit patient advocacy organization, "but EIA can affect athletes at any level or age." 12:15:04 PM