Group: Nevada needs to track asthma

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Tuesday, July 10, 2001 | 10:38 a.m.

Nevada is one of 12 states that fails to track asthma among its residents, according to a report released today by a new health advocacy group.

The Trust for America's Health used the lack of state-level tracking to boost its argument for a nationwide database that tracks all diseases, including asthma and cancer.

Nevada, as is the case with the 11 other states named by the group, has some of the nation's highest levels of air pollution. Nevada's primary source of pollution is particulate matter, which has been linked in some studies to an increase in asthma.

The report used data from the Environmental Protection Agency, which ranked Nevada sixth in the nation for having the highest PM 10 levels -- particulates 10 microns in diameter and smaller.

As of 1998, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta ranked Nevada first for asthma nationwide, with cases occurring in about 7.2 percent of the population.

Researchers for the study, including Dr. Shelley Hearne, found that 23 states have no system for tracking asthma, and those that do fail to do an adequate job of keeping statistics and data. Hearne testified at the congressional hearings in Fallon about the need for a national health database.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., agreed that a national health database could provide researchers with valuable information. Federal funding should be made available to pay for the project, Reid said.

"If we've learned anything from Fallon and the cancer cluster there, it's that we need a national database," Reid said.

Dr. Jim Christensen, who specializes in allergy and asthma care, said such a database could prove helpful, but may be logistically impossible. New patient privacy laws would make it difficult to collect the information, and doctors would have to spend time trying to convince people to participate voluntarily, Christensen said.

"Databases can be wonderful things and can make a tremendous impact," Christensen said Monday. "But they only work if you capture the right data, and at this point I'm not sure we know what the right data is."

The responsibility for the valley's air quality is shifting from the Air Quality Division of the county health district to the Clark County Commission.

Christensen, a member of the Clark County Health District Board, said he plans to make himself available to county officials to help ease the transition. He said he would continue to work on air quality issues.

The Trust for America's Health found insufficient funding was to blame, rather than a lack of interest by health officials at the county and state levels.

This is one of the first reports issued by the trust, a Baltimore-based organization funded primarily by the Pew Charitable Trusts. It is a sister organization to Health Track, an advocacy group that has lobbied for a nationwide database of all diseases to better research environmental causes.

The report recommends a three-year plan, starting with $60 million in initial funding for a 10-state pilot demonstration of the database, which would be overseen by the CDC. The annual budget for the network would then be $275 million, the report estimates.