Childhood Asthma in Georgia: Comparison against the Nation

This article investigates the childhood asthma in Georgia compared with the combined data of the remaining forty-nine states of the United States based on survey data from the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) (2003), provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Hyattsville, Maryland. Some risk factors of asthma in Georgia are found to be statistically significant. The comparison with the factors between Georgia and all other states combined is performed to get insight about the problems of childhood asthma in Georgia. Preliminary logistic regression analysis revealed that race, poverty level, weight, and respiratory allergies are significant covariates for childhood asthma in Georgia. However, in the other states, besides those risk factors for Georgia, the analysis revealed that gender, medical preventive care, metropolitan statistical area location, and insurance status are also significant with regard to childhood asthma. Second-hand smoking is beyond the reach of statistical significance as a risk factor for childhood asthma in both Georgia and the combined states.