The New Mexico Department of Health is trying to determine the number of Navajo Nation youth who suffer from asthma.

The state already has one of the highest asthma rates in the nation. But the numbers could go even higher once data from the Indian Health Service is included.

"We don't know what the impact (of asthma) is among Navajo kids, so that sort of skews the numbers," Dr. Elizabeth Matthews of the state department told The Farmington Daily Times. "We can speculate that if we added in Indian Health Services data we would have higher rates."

Matthews said living conditions on the Navajo Nation increase the chances a child will develop asthma.

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