There’s progress in the fight against asthma for U.S. children, according to a new Vital Signs report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report shows youngsters are having fewer asthma attacks, missed school days and visits to the hospital.

The percentage of children with asthma who experienced one or more asthma attacks in the preceding 12 months declined to 53.7 percent in 2016, compared with 61.7 percent in 2001, according to the report. Even so, approximately half of children with asthma had one or more asthma attacks in 2016.

“We are making progress – but healthcare providers, parents, caregivers and schools can do more to help children avoid asthma attacks,” said CDC Acting Director Anne Schuchat, MD. “Asthma attacks can be terrifying for children and their families. Over the past decade, we’ve identified asthma management actions that work – not alone but in combination. Now we need to scale up these efforts nationwide.”

The report shows that some children are more likely to have asthma than others, including boys, children ages 5-17, non-Hispanic black children, children of Puerto Rican descent and children from low-income families.

Other study findings show:

• Asthma hospitalizations for children with asthma declined from 9.6 percent in 2003 to only 4.7 percent in 2013.
• The percentage of children who reported asthma-related missed school days also was lower in 2013 than it was in 2003.
• More children with asthma are getting asthma action plans and being taught how to recognize the signs and symptoms of an asthma attack and how to respond quickly.
• Despite this progress, 1 in 6 children with asthma still ends up in the emergency department and about 1 in 20 is hospitalized each year.