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  5. Asthma Trends and Burden

Asthma Trends and Burden

Asthma impacts those with the disease in many ways that may differ by demographic group and can change over time. This page describes trends and disparities in asthma mortality (deaths), prevalence (number of cases), healthcare use, number of missed school and work days, and economic costs. Prevalence includes lifetime, current, and attack, and healthcare use includes hospitalizations and emergency department visits.

Mortality

  • In 2021, 3,517 people died from asthma.
  • The asthma death rate decreased 44 percent from 1.7 per 100,000 population in 1999 to 1.0 in 2021, although progress has slowed since 2007.
  • In 2021, 59 percent of asthma deaths were in women, and the asthma death rate was 27 percent higher among women than men.
  • The asthma death rate was 2.1 times greater among Black individuals than white individuals in 2021.
  • Both the number and rate of deaths from asthma are much greater among older age groups. Fortunately, death rates have been decreasing among those ages 45-64 and 65 years and older.

Trends in Asthma Mortality by Sex and Race/Ethnicity
  Total Male Female White Black Other Latino
Year Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate
1999 4,657 1.7 1,620 1.3 3,037 2.0 3,011 1.4 1,134 4.0 179 1.4 320 1.4
2000 4,487 1.6 1,632 1.3 2,855 1.8 2,836 1.3 1,145 3.9 183 1.3 292 1.3
2001 4,269 1.5 1,479 1.2 2,790 1.8 2,717 1.2 1,092 3.7 167 1.2 274 1.2
2002 4,261 1.5 1,580 1.2 2,681 1.7 2,720 1.2 1,083 3.5 147 1.2 287 1.2
2003 4,099 1.4 1,493 1.2 2,606 1.6 2,589 1.1 1,019 3.2 178 1.1 299 1.1
2004 3,816 1.3 1,386 1.1 2,430 1.5 2,377 1.0 1,001 3.2 146 1.0 281 1.0
2005 3,884 1.3 1,315 1.0 2,569 1.5 2,475 1.1 1,002 3.1 149 1.1 248 1.1
2006 3,613 1.2 1,296 1.0 2,317 1.4 2,246 1.0 943 2.8 154 1.0 257 1.0
2007 3,447 1.1 1,274 0.9 2,173 1.2 2,151 0.9 893 2.6 163 0.9 239 0.9
2008 3,397 1.1 1,186 0.8 2,211 1.2 2,070 0.9 892 2.5 153 0.9 271 0.9
2009 3,388 1.1 1,220 0.8 2,168 1.2 2,012 0.8 905 2.5 159 0.8 302 0.8
2010 3,404 1.0 1,283 0.9 2,121 1.2 2,082 0.9 862 2.4 155 0.9 292 0.9
2011 3,345 1.0 1,262 0.8 2,083 1.1 2,023 0.8 899 2.4 171 0.8 244 0.8
2012 3,531 1.0 1,357 0.9 2,174 1.2 2,159 0.9 948 2.5 136 0.9 277 0.9
2013 3,630 1.1 1,410 0.9 2,220 1.2 2,100 0.8 991 2.6 204 0.8 327 0.8
2014 3,651 1.1 1,392 0.9 2,259 1.2 2,163 0.9 991 2.5 182 0.9 301 0.9
2015 3,615 1.0 1,388 0.9 2,227 1.1 2,119 0.8 966 2.4 195 0.8 305 0.8
2016 3,518 1.0 1,356 0.8 2,162 1.1 2,042 0.8 951 2.3 174 0.8 334 0.8
2017 3,564 1.0 1,384 0.8 2,180 1.1 2,089 0.8 953 2.3 187 0.9 322 0.7
2018 3,441 0.9 1,363 0.8 2,078 1.0 1,888 0.7 927 2.3 229 0.9 377 0.8
2019 3,524 1.0 1,422 0.8 2,102 1.1 1,961 0.8 983 2.4 202 0.8 365 0.8
2020 4,145 1.1 1,682 1.0 2,463 1.2 2,156 0.9 1,242 3.0 284 1.1 446 0.9
2021 3,517 1.0 1,430 0.8 2,087 1.1 1,929 0.8 1,020 2.4 194 0.7 366 0.7

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. CDC Wonder On-line Database, compiled from Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2020 and 2018-2021, 2024.

  • Age-adjusted rates are per 100,000 population and should be used for comparisons as they account for important underlying differences between populations.
  • Deaths are coded by the 10th revision of International Classification of Diseases, codes J45-J46.

Trends in Asthma Mortality by Age
  <5 5-14 15-44 45-64 65+
Year Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate
1999 32 0.2 126 0.3 891 0.7 1,190 2.0 2,418 6.9
2000 40 0.2 129 0.3 874 0.7 1,154 1.9 2,290 6.5
2001 41 0.2 99 0.2 828 0.7 1,156 1.8 2,145 6.1
2002 47 0.2 123 0.3 876 0.7 1,144 1.7 2,070 5.8
2003 44 0.2 110 0.3 796 0.6 1,194 1.7 1,955 5.5
2004 36 0.2 105 0.3 732 0.6 1,082 1.5 1,861 5.1
2005 41 0.2 97 0.2 707 0.6 1,115 1.5 1,924 5.3
2006 32 0.2 99 0.2 702 0.6 1,058 1.4 1,722 4.6
2007 45 0.2 107 0.3 654 0.5 999 1.3 1,640 4.3
2008 43 0.2 112 0.3 631 0.5 967 1.2 1,644 4.2
2009 43 0.2 114 0.3 674 0.5 1,021 1.3 1,536 3.9
2010 37 0.2 119 0.3 645 0.5 1,084 1.3 1,519 3.8
2011 41 0.2 128 0.3 647 0.5 1,038 1.3 1,491 3.6
2012 39 0.2 113 0.3 685 0.5 1,153 1.4 1,540 3.6
2013 38 0.2 145 0.4 718 0.6 1,133 1.4 1,596 3.6
2014 31 0.2 130 0.3 801 0.6 1,163 1.4 1,526 3.3
2015 28 0.1 161 0.4 763 0.6 1,119 1.3 1,544 3.2
2016 35 0.2 134 0.3 798 0.6 1,115 1.3 1,436 2.9
2017 27 0.1 127 0.3 763 0.6 1,099 1.3 1,548 3.0
2018 36 0.2 125 0.3 692 0.5 1,065 1.3 1,522 2.9
2019 14 -- 138 0.3 835 0.6 1,073 1.3 1,464 2.7
2020 16 -- 143 0.3 961 0.7 1,315 1.6 1,710 3.1
2021 26 0.1 92 0.2 807 0.6 1,079 1.3 1,513 2.7

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. CDC Wonder On-line Database, compiled from Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2020 and 2018-2021, 2024.

  • Death rates are per 100,000 population.
  • Deaths are coded by the 10th revision of International Classification of Diseases, codes J45-J46.
  • -- Rate unavailable due to too few deaths or too much variance to allow for accurate reporting and sufficient confidentiality.

Prevalence

Lifetime Asthma
  • In 2022, 44.2 million Americans, or 13.5%, had ever been diagnosed with asthma by a health professional.
  • This was an increase of 48% from 9.1% in 1999.
  • Adults ages 18-55 years had the highest lifetime prevalence rates compared to other age groups at 16.8% in 2022.
  • Females (14.2%) were about 12% more likely than males (12.7%) to ever have been diagnosed with asthma in 2022.
  • Black individuals are generally more likely than other races and ethnicities to be diagnosed with asthma over their lifetime. In 2022 they had the second-highest lifetime prevalence rate at 17.2%.
  • At 16.0%, those with some college had the highest lifetime prevalence rate compared to other education levels in 2022.

Trends in Lifetime Asthma Rate by Age, Sex and Race/Ethnicity
  1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
                                                Rate Count (thousands)
Total 9.1% 10.1% 11.3% 11.1% 10.4% 10.5% 11.2% 11.6% 11.5% 12.9% 13.2% 12.9% 12.9% 13.0% 12.0% 12.9% 12.7% 13.6% 13.3% 13.0% 12.8% 13.1% 12.9% 13.5% 44,170
Age
<5 7.0% 7.8% 7.9% 7.3% 7.5% 7.3% 8.6% 7.5% 8.0% 7.2% 7.9% 8.0% 8.3% 7.0% 5.9% 5.6% 5.7% 5.1% 5.6% 4.9% 3.2% 3.7% 2.6% 3.2% 583
5-17 12.2% 14.0% 14.4% 14.0% 14.3% 14.0% 14.2% 15.7% 15.0% 16.4% 16.1% 15.8% 16.3% 16.6% 15.2% 16.4% 15.7% 15.6% 15.7% 14.1% 13.2% 11.5% 12.9% 12.1% 6,587
18-44 9.3% 9.8% 11.8% 11.5% 10.1% 9.9% 11.2% 11.5% 11.7% 13.5% 14.3% 13.6% 13.6% 13.4% 12.2% 14.0% 13.5% 15.3% 14.8% 14.7% 15.5% 16.2% 15.5% 16.8% 19,527
45-64 8.0% 8.7% 10.4% 10.6% 9.8% 9.9% 10.5% 10.5% 10.4% 12.0% 12.3% 12.1% 12.2% 12.7% 12.1% 12.1% 12.7% 13.7% 13.0% 12.6% 11.9% 13.0% 12.8% 13.2% 10,835
65+ 6.5% 8.4% 8.7% 8.0% 8.1% 9.7% 9.9% 10.6% 9.7% 11.0% 11.3% 11.1% 10.4% 10.4% 10.3% 10.9% 10.3% 10.9% 11.1% 11.7% 11.4% 11.7% 11.2% 11.7% 6,660
Sex
Male 8.7% 9.9% 10.8% 10.6% 9.7% 10.2% 10.3% 11.1% 11.0% 12.2% 12.6% 11.9% 12.1% 12.1% 11.3% 12.0% 11.9% 12.7% 12.6% 11.8% 12.4% 12.1% 12.1% 12.7% 20,463
Female 9.5% 10.3% 11.9% 11.6% 11.1% 10.8% 12.1% 12.1% 12.0% 13.5% 13.9% 13.9% 13.8% 13.8% 12.7% 13.9% 13.5% 14.5% 14.0% 14.1% 13.2% 14.1% 13.6% 14.2% 23,707
Race/Ethnicity
White 9.1% 10.2% 11.5% 11.1% 10.3% 10.5% 11.2% 11.7% 11.4% 12.9% 13.3% 12.6% 12.6% 13.0% 12.0% 12.8% 12.8% 13.7% 13.6% 13.1% 12.9% 13.2% 13.1% 13.5% 26,265
Black 10.3% 11.4% 12.4% 13.8% 12.8% 13.0% 13.4% 13.3% 13.0% 15.7% 16.3% 17.0% 16.6% 16.7% 14.8% 16.0% 15.2% 17.0% 15.2% 16.1% 15.7% 15.5% 15.9% 17.2% 6,785
Asian 18.0% 10.9% 14.3% 14.1% 17.3% 15.2% 12.6% 16.8% 13.7% 18.8% 14.4% 11.6% 21.8% 18.1% 12.3% 17.4% 16.1% 15.5% 13.4% 8.3% 6.6% 8.3% 7.6% 8.8% 1,654
Indigenous Peoples 5.4% 7.3% 7.8% 8.6% 6.0% 6.4% 8.5% 9.3% 8.9% 8.7% 9.5% 9.9% 8.6% 7.6% 7.4% 9.2% 7.7% 9.5% 8.8% 18.1% 12.2% 18.6% 19.6% 21.9% 585
Latino 8.0% 8.2% 9.5% 8.3% 8.8% 8.4% 9.2% 9.8% 10.2% 10.1% 11.0% 10.9% 11.5% 11.1% 10.4% 11.6% 11.1% 11.4% 12.0% 11.7% 11.6% 11.9% 10.7% 11.9% 7,444
Education
Less Than High School 8.2% 9.2% 10.2% 9.6% 10.2% 10.8% 10.3% 10.9% 10.1% 11.3% 12.9% 11.6% 12.2% 11.5% 11.3% 11.6% 11.6% 11.7% 12.3% 11.4% 11.9% 12.8% 12.1% 12.8% 10,530
High School Diploma or GED 7.7% 7.9% 9.5% 9.3% 8.4% 8.6% 9.1% 9.5% 9.2% 11.0% 11.2% 10.3% 11.7% 11.0% 10.6% 11.0% 12.0% 12.5% 11.9% 11.1% 15.3% 15.1% 15.3% 16.0% 6,592
Some College 8.4% 9.8% 11.2% 11.3% 10.5% 10.8% 11.4% 12.3% 11.8% 13.1% 14.2% 14.0% 13.0% 13.9% 12.5% 13.6% 13.9% 14.8% 14.7% 14.9% 11.5% 12.5% 12.9% 12.7% 6,000
Bachelors Degree or Higher 7.5% 8.7% 10.2% 9.9% 8.9% 9.3% 10.4% 10.0% 10.8% 11.5% 11.9% 12.1% 11.3% 11.8% 11.4% 11.9% 11.3% 13.1% 12.7% 12.4% 12.8% 13.1% 13.3% 14.1% 4,357

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 1999-2022. Analysis by the American Lung Association Research and Program Services Division of Integrated Health Interview Series data from Minnesota Population Center and State Health Access Data Assistance Center.

  • Lifetime prevalence is defined as answering yes to "Have you ever been told by a doctor or other health professional that you had asthma?"
  • Education categories include only adults ages 25 years and older.
Current Asthma
  • In 2022, 26.8 million Americans, or 8.2%, had ever been diagnosed with asthma by a health professional and reported that they still had asthma.
  • From 2001 to 2010, current asthma prevalence rates increased at a statistically-significant average rate of 0.1 points per year. From 2010 to 2022, the average change per year has not been statistically significantly different and has remained flat.
  • Adults ages 18-44 years had the highest current prevalence rates compared to other age groups at 9.0% in 2022.
  • Females (9.7%) were about 44% more likely than males (6.6%) to still have asthma in 2022.

Trends in Current Asthma Rate by Age, Sex and Race/Ethnicity
  2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
                                            Rate Count (thousands)
Total 7.4% 7.2% 7.0% 7.1% 7.7% 7.8% 7.7% 7.8% 8.2% 8.5% 8.5% 8.3% 7.3% 7.7% 7.8% 8.3% 7.9% 7.7% 7.8% 7.8% 7.7% 8.2% 26,778
Age
<5 5.7% 6.0% 5.9% 5.6% 6.8% 5.8% 6.8% 6.2% 6.3% 6.0% 6.9% 5.4% 4.2% 4.3% 4.7% 3.8% 4.4% 3.8% 2.6% 2.0% 1.9% 2.7% 499
5-17 9.8% 9.2% 9.5% 9.6% 9.7% 10.7% 10.0% 10.7% 11.0% 10.7% 10.6% 10.7% 9.9% 10.2% 9.8% 10.0% 9.9% 8.9% 8.6% 7.2% 8.1% 7.4% 4,031
18-44 7.2% 6.9% 6.3% 6.4% 7.0% 7.3% 7.2% 7.2% 7.6% 8.1% 8.0% 8.1% 6.7% 7.5% 7.5% 8.1% 7.5% 7.2% 8.2% 8.6% 8.0% 9.0% 10,453
45-64 6.7% 7.1% 6.9% 7.0% 7.3% 7.5% 7.2% 7.5% 7.8% 8.4% 8.7% 8.4% 7.8% 7.6% 8.4% 9.2% 8.5% 8.3% 7.9% 8.5% 8.7% 8.9% 7,312
65+ 6.0% 5.9% 5.8% 7.0% 7.6% 7.0% 7.5% 7.2% 7.7% 8.1% 7.6% 7.0% 6.3% 6.9% 6.6% 7.4% 7.0% 7.8% 7.7% 7.8% 7.2% 7.9% 4,504
Sex
Male 6.4% 6.2% 5.9% 6.4% 6.4% 7.0% 6.5% 7.1% 7.0% 7.0% 7.2% 7.0% 6.2% 6.3% 6.5% 6.9% 6.4% 6.2% 6.6% 6.1% 6.5% 6.6% 10,692
Female 8.3% 8.1% 8.0% 7.9% 8.8% 8.6% 8.9% 8.5% 9.3% 9.9% 9.7% 9.5% 8.3% 9.0% 9.1% 9.7% 9.3% 9.1% 8.9% 9.5% 8.9% 9.7% 16,087
Race/Ethnicity
White 7.4% 7.2% 6.9% 7.3% 7.6% 7.9% 7.6% 7.8% 8.1% 8.1% 8.2% 8.1% 7.4% 7.6% 7.8% 8.3% 8.1% 7.7% 7.6% 7.7% 7.7% 8.4% 16,462
Black 8.5% 9.6% 9.2% 9.2% 9.7% 9.1% 10.0% 10.3% 11.1% 12.1% 11.6% 11.9% 9.9% 9.9% 10.3% 11.6% 10.1% 10.9% 11.2% 10.4% 11.0% 10.3% 4,062
Asian 4.7% 4.4% 2.8% 3.4% 4.7% 5.6% 4.1% 4.6% 5.2% 5.7% 5.2% 4.6% 3.7% 4.8% 4.2% 5.5% 4.4% 4.0% 3.3% 4.5% 4.7% 4.4% 828
Indigenous Peoples 8.4% 10.6% 12.3% 9.5% 8.5% 11.0% 9.0% 14.3% 9.9% 10.0% 16.5% 11.2% 7.1% 13.7% 11.6% 11.4% 9.6% 12.0% 9.4% 14.7% 11.5% 13.0% 346
Latino 5.9% 4.9% 5.5% 5.2% 6.2% 6.4% 6.8% 5.8% 6.3% 7.3% 7.3% 7.0% 5.9% 6.7% 6.6% 6.6% 6.4% 6.4% 6.8% 6.8% 5.7% 6.7% 4,215
Education
Less Than High School 6.9% 6.8% 7.5% 8.0% 8.1% 8.2% 7.8% 8.0% 9.3% 8.2% 8.5% 8.7% 7.2% 7.9% 8.3% 8.3% 8.4% 8.5% 7.8% 8.3% 7.5% 8.5% 6,930
High School Diploma or GED 6.1% 6.2% 5.7% 6.1% 6.5% 6.7% 6.4% 6.5% 7.1% 7.3% 8.4% 7.3% 7.0% 7.0% 7.1% 8.5% 7.7% 6.7% 9.5% 9.0% 9.2% 9.6% 3,951
Some College 7.1% 7.4% 6.9% 7.2% 8.0% 8.1% 8.3% 7.5% 8.3% 9.6% 8.8% 8.8% 7.6% 7.9% 8.4% 9.0% 8.7% 8.8% 6.2% 6.6% 7.1% 7.0% 3,295
Bachelors Degree or Higher 6.2% 6.1% 5.5% 6.0% 6.3% 6.3% 6.5% 6.2% 6.6% 7.0% 7.1% 6.9% 6.2% 6.6% 6.8% 7.2% 6.8% 6.8% 7.1% 6.7% 7.5% 8.2% 2,542

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 2001-2022. Analysis by the American Lung Association Research and Program Services Division of Integrated Health Interview Series data from Minnesota Population Center and State Health Access Data Assistance Center.

  • Current prevalence was defined as answering "yes" to both "Have you EVER been told by a health professional that you had asthma?" and "Do you still have asthma?"
  • Education categories include only adults ages 25 years and older.
Asthma Attack
  • In 2022, 11.3 million, or 42.4% of those ever diagnosed with asthma by a health professional and still having asthma had at least one asthma attack.
  • This proportion was a decrease of 25% from 56.3% in 2001.
  • Children less than 5 years of age had the highest attack rates compared to other age groups at 67.9% in 2022.
  • Females (45.3%) were 13 percent more likely than males (38.0%) to have had an asthma attack in 2022.
  • Estimates of asthma attack rates are not accurate for some racial and ethnic groups for single years due to small sample sizes. To allow for accurate comparisons between groups, we combined four years of data and found that in 2019 to 2022, asthma attack rates were very similar for most racial and ethnic groups:
    • White individuals – 41.6%
    • Latino individuals – 41.4%
    • Asian individuals – 38.4%
    • Black individuals – 38.1%
    • Indigenous Peoples – 37.6%
  • Asthma attack rates in 2022 were highest for those with a high school diploma or GED (46.8%), lower for those with some college (41.6%), and lowest for those with less than a high school education (38.7%) or a bachelors degree or higher (38.7%).

Trends in Asthma Attack Rate by Age, Sex and Race/Ethnicity
  2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
                                            Rate Count (thousands)
Total 56.3% 56.6% 53.8% 54.3% 53.2% 52.0% 51.7% 52.6% 49.5% 51.6% 49.1% 50.7% 49.9% 44.7% 46.9% 46.9% 45.6% 48.2% 41.2% 41.0% 39.4% 42.4% 11,337
Age
<5 70.7% 77.3% 69.7% 65.1% 60.8% 69.9% 59.0% 64.4% 66.2% 68.3% 60.9% 60.8% 66.5% 56.5% 60.6% 62.4% 58.7% 75.4% 47.2% 52.9% 63.1% 67.9% 339
5-17 59.8% 61.9% 61.0% 60.4% 55.6% 53.2% 53.7% 55.6% 51.1% 56.1% 54.1% 54.2% 56.6% 46.7% 45.2% 52.5% 50.4% 53.7% 44.0% 41.6% 36.6% 50.8% 2,045
18-44 56.2% 55.0% 51.8% 51.8% 55.8% 50.0% 51.0% 52.0% 50.1% 48.5% 46.6% 49.4% 46.8% 41.8% 46.7% 41.1% 38.9% 43.2% 41.0% 40.5% 39.0% 39.5% 4,130
45-64 54.4% 51.0% 51.4% 54.8% 53.1% 56.4% 52.6% 53.4% 49.4% 53.6% 49.5% 53.4% 51.7% 48.8% 49.8% 52.3% 50.7% 50.9% 44.1% 46.4% 45.6% 44.5% 3,248
65+ 43.2% 49.9% 38.8% 42.5% 37.7% 37.5% 44.3% 40.5% 36.9% 41.6% 40.7% 37.8% 36.5% 37.8% 39.4% 38.7% 40.6% 42.0% 32.9% 31.8% 30.3% 35.5% 1,597
Sex
Male 54.1% 55.1% 52.7% 55.2% 51.5% 47.3% 48.9% 50.1% 47.7% 49.8% 45.9% 49.8% 46.8% 43.0% 41.9% 44.8% 42.2% 44.8% 38.0% 37.5% 34.3% 38.0% 4,062
Female 57.9% 57.7% 54.6% 53.6% 54.5% 55.7% 53.6% 54.7% 50.8% 52.9% 51.4% 51.3% 52.2% 45.9% 50.3% 48.4% 47.8% 50.3% 43.5% 43.1% 43.0% 45.3% 7,275
Race/Ethnicity
White 55.7% 56.0% 52.8% 53.9% 53.8% 51.9% 51.3% 51.5% 48.9% 52.0% 49.8% 50.7% 50.4% 44.1% 46.6% 46.7% 45.5% 48.9% 41.6% 42.3% 40.4% 42.4% 6,975
Black 60.6% 56.9% 53.3% 56.1% 45.3% 49.7% 49.8% 52.1% 48.1% 47.7% 50.3% 51.5% 49.5% 46.5% 44.0% 48.5% 41.6% 45.4% 43.0% 37.1% 34.0% 38.7% 1,570
Asian -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 59.5% 57.2% 50.7% 44.5% 51.2% 41.9% 48.3% -- 52.6% -- -- -- -- 37.3% 308
Indigenous Peoples -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Latino 54.7% 57.7% 56.5% 54.1% 56.7% 55.0% 57.4% 55.3% 50.3% 51.4% 45.9% 52.1% 47.4% 43.9% 49.1% 46.7% 46.7% 45.7% 38.8% 41.4% 39.2% 45.6% 1,921
Education
Less Than High School 54.0% 51.6% 48.3% 54.3% 53.2% 49.3% 55.4% 55.5% 49.3% 49.2% 46.9% 53.4% 40.4% 48.3% 47.7% 46.2% 43.6% 49.1% 42.0% 41.7% 36.3% 41.6% 2,867
High School Diploma or GED 49.2% 53.5% 50.3% 48.4% 49.7% 51.2% 47.2% 45.4% 46.8% 44.7% 45.3% 47.1% 49.7% 46.0% 39.2% 46.8% 44.4% 42.0% 39.1% 42.7% 43.9% 46.8% 2,101
Some College 54.5% 55.7% 55.2% 53.4% 53.1% 55.1% 55.8% 55.0% 51.6% 51.5% 49.1% 54.9% 53.6% 48.4% 51.6% 45.0% 45.7% 49.5% 42.7% 41.7% 43.8% 38.7% 2,019
Bachelors Degree or Higher 57.4% 50.8% 47.5% 52.1% 52.0% 50.4% 48.8% 52.8% 47.6% 54.5% 50.1% 47.5% 45.0% 38.9% 47.4% 47.6% 43.3% 46.1% 39.5% 42.1% 40.5% 38.7% 1,557

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 2001-2022. Analysis by the American Lung Association Research and Program Services Division of Integrated Health Interview Series data from Minnesota Population Center and State Health Access Data Assistance Center.

  • Attack prevalence was defined as answering yes to all of "Have you ever been told by a health professional that you had asthma?," "Do you still have asthma?," and "During the past 12 months, have you had an episode of asthma or asthma attack?"
  • -- Estimate not reliable due to small sample size.
  • Education categories include only adults ages 25 years and older.

Missed School and Work Days

  • In 2018, 2.2 million aged 5-17 years missed more than 7.9 million school days.
  • In 2018, there were 10.9 million missed work days due to asthma among employed adults ages 18 years and older, and 62.8 million missed days of housework among unemployed adults.

Healthcare Use

Hospitalizations
  • In 2020, there were 94,560 hospitalizations with asthma listed as the primary cause, or 28.5 per 100,000 people.
  • The asthma hospitalization rate decreased at an average rate of 1.3 points per year from 1993 to 2014, which was statistically significant, or 21 percent overall.
  • From 2016 to 2020, the asthma hospitalization rate decreased an average of 6.5 points per year, although much of this change is due to the large decrease in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic caused subsequent avoidance of and limited capacity in healthcare facilities.
  • From 2014 to 2016, a new disease coding system was put in place for hospitalizations. It is likely that the large decrease in asthma hospitalizations during this period was due to the change in coding.
Emergency Department Visits
  • In 2020, there were 898 thousand emergency room visits with asthma listed as the primary cause, or 271.0 per 100,000 people.
  • The asthma emergency department visit rate increased at an average rate of 8.2 points per year from 2006 to 2014, which was statistically significant, or 10 percent overall.
  • From 2016 to 2020, the asthma hospitalization rate decreased an average of 43.5 points per year, although much of this change is due to the large decrease in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic caused subsequent avoidance of and limited capacity in healthcare facilities.
  • From 2014 to 2016, a new disease coding system was put in place for emergency department visits. It is likely that the decrease in asthma visits was due to this change in coding.

Economic Cost

  • From 2008 to 2013, asthma accounted for $81.9 billion each year in total economic cost in the United States:
    • Health care costs – $50.3 billion per year
    • Mortality – $29.0 billion per year
    • Missed school and work days – $3.0 billion per year
Next: Current Asthma Demographics

Page last updated: July 15, 2024

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