Health

Schenectady tops Bronx as worst place in NY for asthma: study

ALBANY — Schenectady has edged out The Bronx as the asthma capital of the state among Medicaid recipients.

A report issued Friday by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli found that 131.3 of every 1,000 Medicaid recipients in the upstate city have been diagnosed with the lung disease, compared with 130.2 in The Bronx.

Every other borough also showed an increase since 2008-09.

DiNapoli said asthma cost the state’s Medicaid system $532 million in 2013, an increase of more than 26 percent over five years.

Asthma deaths over the past decade fell from 330 in 2002 to 255 in 2011.