ABSTRACT
Over the last two decades asthma prevalence, morbidity, and mortality have
increased (1). The self-reported 12-month prevalence of asthma increased 73.9% from 1980 to 1996 in the United States (1). There are differences in prevalence among ethnic groups. Hispanics reported wide discrepancies in
prevalence: Mexican American children reported low rates and Puerto Rican
children predominantly living in the northeast United States reported some of
the highest rates (2). Small-area analyses have demonstrated asthma period
prevalence rate in poor urban communities in the United States to be twice
the national prevalence rate (3). Although most of the regional analyses with
high prevalence rates have been carried out in highly populated urban areas, less populated areas have also been reported to have high prevalence rates (4).
