The Asthma Problem
Authors: OSCAR SWINEFORD
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1962)

Review1 July 1962The Asthma ProblemA Critical AnalysisOSCAR SWINEFORD JR., M.D.OSCAR SWINEFORD JR., M.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-57-1-144 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptAsthma is a common disorder, steeped in antiquity. Reference to it has been found in the Book of Exodus and in the medical classics since the days of Homer, Herodotus, Hippocrates, Galen, Aretaeus, and Celsus (1). Few serious chronic disorders have plagued so many, so relentlessly, and for so long.No one denies that asthma is prevalent. But no one knows its true incidence. Baldwin (2) quoted a 1935 estimate of 3,900,000 victims of hay fever and asthma. Van Arsdell (3) found that 4.7 per cent of 5,657 first-year students at the University of Washington had asthma, and an additional...References1. 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C., October 7, 1960.Requests for reprints should be addressed to Oscar Swineford, Jr., M.D., Department of Internal Medicine, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia. 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