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America's Worst Asthma Cities

Knoxville Tops the List of Most Challenging Cities for People With Asthma

WebMD Health News

Feb. 16, 2005 -- Knoxville, Tenn., tops the list of the 100 most challenging U.S. cities for people living with asthma.

Memphis, Tenn., and Louisville, Ky., took the second and third spots in the second annual ranking of U.S. asthma cities. Washington, D.C. jumped from number 50 last year to number five in this year's list.

Researchers say more than half of the 20 million Americans with asthma suffer from the allergic form of the disease, which is aggravated by exposure to allergens like pollen, dust mites, and mold.

In compiling the 2005 U.S. asthma cities list, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America ranked the top 100 metropolitan areas in the country based on 12 asthma risk, medical, and prevalence factors, such as:

Estimated and reported prevalence of asthma
Asthma-related deaths
Annual pollen level
Annual air quality
Public smoking laws
Number of asthma specialists
School asthma-inhaler access laws
Uninsured rate
Poverty rate

Based on those factors, the following cities were ranked the top 100 worst cities for asthma sufferers:

Top 100 Asthma Cities

Ranking	City
1	Knoxville, Tenn.
2	Memphis, Tenn.
3	Louisville, Ky.
4	Toledo, Ohio
5	Washington, D.C.
6	St. Louis, Mo.
7	Allentown, Pa.
8	Springfield, Mass.
9	Grand Rapids, Mich.
10	Scranton, Pa.
11	Indianapolis
12	Columbus, Ohio
13	Pittsburgh
14	Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz.
15	Birmingham, Ala.
16	Chattanooga, Tenn.
17	Detroit
18	Atlanta
19	Lancaster, Pa.
20	Fresno, Calif.
21	Little Rock, Ark.
22	Hartford, Conn.
23	Oklahoma City
24	Johnson City, Okla.
25	Milwaukee
26	Harrisburg, Pa.
27	Charlotte, N.C.
28	Madison, Wis.
29	Philadelphia
30	Canton, Ohio
31	Kalamazoo, Mich.
32	Lexington, Ky.
33	Greensboro, N.C.
34	Youngstown, Ohio
35	Nashville, Tenn.
36	Tulsa, Okla.
37	Dayton, Ohio
38	Lansing, Mich.
39	Modesto, Calif.
40	Augusta, Ga.
41	Wichita, Kan.
42	Los Angeles
43	Cincinnati
44	Chicago
45	Omaha, Neb.
46	Syracuse, N.Y.
47	Jackson, Miss.
48	Raleigh, N.C.
49	Cleveland
50	Baltimore
51	Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
52	Kansas City, Mo.
53	Bakersfield, Calif.
54	Boise City, Idaho
55	Fort Wayne, Ind.
56	Mobile, Ala.
57	Spokane, Wash.
58	Greenville, S.C.
59	Buffalo, N.Y.
60	Portland, Ore.
61	Tucson, Ariz.
62	Richmond, Va.
63	Salt Lake City
64	Columbia, S.C.
65	Providence, R.I.
66	Boston
67	El Paso, Texas
68	Charleston, S.C.
69	Las Vegas
70	Rochester, N.Y.
71	Sacramento, Calif.
72	New York
73	Stockton, Calif.
74	McAllen, Texas
75	Tampa, Fla.
76	Austin, Texas
77	Albuquerque, N.M.
78	Orlando, Fla.
79	New Orleans
80	Des Moines, Iowa
81	Baton Rouge, La.
82	San Diego
83	Albany, N.Y.
84	Jacksonville, Fla.
85	Pensacola, Fla.
86	Houston
87	Lakeland, Fla.
88	Norfolk, Va.
89	San Antonio
90	Sarasota, Fla.
91	Melbourne, Fla.
92	Colorado Springs, Colo.
93	Fort Meyers, Fla.
94	Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
95	West Palm Beach, Fla.
96	Seattle
97	Denver
98	Daytona Beach, Fla.
99	Miami
100	San Francisco