For the third time in five years, Knoxville, Tenn., is ranked the #1 Asthma Capital™ – the most challenging place to live with asthma in the U.S. – by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA).
Since 2004, AAFA has conducted scientific research to evaluate conditions in the largest 100 metropolitan areas in America and to rank them based on the quality of life for people with asthma in each city.

Based on research
The Foundation reviews 12 factors grouped into three categories: (1) Prevalence factors such as the crude death rate (CDR) for asthma and estimated prevalence of adult and pediatric asthma; (2) Risk factors such as air pollution, pollen counts and public smoking bans; and (3) Medical factors such as the number of asthma medications used per patient and the number of asthma specialists in the area.

The Asthma Capitals are considered to be the most challenging places to live with asthma; the top five cities for this year are:
1. Knoxville, Tenn
2. Tulsa, Okla
3. Milwakee, Wis
4. Atlanta, Ga
5. Memphis, Tenn

Knoxville rose to the top of the 2008 Asthma Capitals rankings due in part to its higher than average annual pollen counts, high pollution, weak public smoking bans and the high use of asthma “rescue” medications per patient. A full report of the rankings for 100 cities across the nation is available at
www.AsthmaCapitals.com [2].

DÉJÀ VU all over again
This is not Knoxville’s first time at the top of the list. The city was ranked #1 in 2004 and 2005 and then dipped down, but never went off the list.

Dr. Bob Overholt, a board-certified allergist in Knoxville, and a national expert on asthma, is not surprised. “Everyone in the medical community in Knoxville sees first-hand how this area affects asthma patients,” said Overholt. “It’s not just a spring or fall problem anymore. We see asthma patients all year long, and for many reasons.”

Don’t move, improve
“Knoxville keeps appearing as a severe place for people with asthma,” says Mike Tringale, AAFA’s Director of External Affairs, “but people should not move away from cities just because they are on the list; you can’t move away from asthma. We hope this ranking encourages patients to work better with their doctors to develop a better daily asthma management plan no matter where they live.”

You can learn to control your asthma more effectively. There’s plenty of help out there; all you have to do is pick up your phone—or turn on your computer and click your mouse. We’re here for you 24/7.