Black kids hospitalized more for asthma

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WASHINGTON, July 1 (UPI) -- African-American children are four times as likely as white children to be hospitalized for a severe asthma attack, U.S. health officials say.

A report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, says for every 100,000 children age 2-17 hospitalized for asthma attacks, 384 were black, 94 were white, 135 were Hispanic and 78 were Asian and Pacific Islander.

Data on other disparities involving hospitalization of children for asthma, the agency found that per 100,000 children admitted:

-- Children from poor families were more than twice as likely as those from high-income families to be admitted.

-- 181 per 100,000 boys were hospitalized vs. 119 per 100,000 girls.

-- Children ages 2-4 were more than six times as likely as children ages 15-17 to be hospitalized.

-- Children in the northeast were more likely to be hospitalized than those in the west.

The AHRQ report is based on data from the 2010 National Healthcare Disparities Report, which examines the disparities in Americans' access to and quality of healthcare, with breakdowns by race, ethnicity, income and education.