More and more Californians suffer from asthma due to air pollution, smoking and lack of insurance and medical care, according to a new study released on Tuesday.

Because of asthma, children missed 1.9 million days of school and adults missed 2 million days of work in 2005, said the study conducted by the Center for Health Policy Research at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA).

According to the study, as many as 475,000 children and adults in California went to an emergency room or urgent care center at least once that year because of asthma. The year 2005 is the latest for which comprehensive health statistics are available from the California Health Interview Survey.

UCLA researchers said the statistics are further proof of the debilitating effects of asthma, a chronic inflammation of the body's air passageways.

"Having asthma attacks every day or week suggests that the patient is not getting adequate preventative care," said Ying-Ying Meng, lead author of the report. "It puts them much more at risk for a serious asthma attack and a visit to the emergency room."

The report found that one out of three California school-aged children with daily or weekly asthma symptoms missed at least one week of school, and 12 percent of adults with similar symptoms missed one week of work in 2005.

One-fifth of adults and one-tenth of children with frequent asthma symptoms had fewer than the minimum recommended two scheduled doctor visits per year, according to the study. One- fifth of children and non-elderly adults with daily or weekly symptoms were uninsured for all or part of 2005.

"Without insurance and quality medical care, children and adults with asthma suffer far more than they should," said Sue Babey, co-author of the report.

(Xinhua News Agency July 9, 2008)