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Most Recent Asthma Data

These tables feature the latest national and state statistics on the burden of asthma among children and adults. The data are from national and state surveillance systems administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Links to sources are provided with each table to assist with finding additional information on the data and relevant tables and reports.

Webpage last updated: June 2017

National Data / State or Territory Data


National
Current Asthma* Prevalence (2015)

Characteristic** Number with Current Asthma (in thousands) Percent with Current Asthma
Total 24,633 7.8%
Child (Age <18) 6,188 8.4%
Adult (Age 18+) 18,445 7.6%
All Age Groups  
0-4 years 935 4.7%
5-14 years 4,033 9.8%
15-19 years 2,107 10.2%
20-24 years 1,655 7.6%
25-34 years 2,916 6.8%
35-64 years 9,907 8.0%
65+ years 3,079 6.6%
Child Age Group  
0-4 years 935 4.7%
5-11 years 2,761 9.6%
12-17 years 2,492 10.0%
Young Teens (12–14 years) 1,272 10.3%
Teenagers (15–17 years) 1,219 9.8%
Adolescents (11–21 years) 4,415 9.8%
Young Adults (22–39 years) 5,429 7.1%
Sex  
Males 9,998 6.5%
Boys (Age <18) 3,705 9.9%
Men (Age 18+) 6,293 5.4%
Females 14,634 9.1%
Girls (Age <18) 2,483 6.9%
Women (Age 18+) 12,151 9.7%
Race/Ethnicity  
White NH 15,244 7.8%
Child (Age <18) 2,810 7.4%
Adult (Age 18+) 12,435 7.9%
Black NH 3,931 10.3%
Child (Age <18) 1,336 13.4%
Adult (Age 18+) 2,595 9.1%
Other NH 1,793 6.9%
Child (Age <18) 605 8.4%
Adult (Age 18+) 1,188 6.3%
Hispanic 3,665 6.6%
Child (Age <18) 1,438 8.0%
Adult (Age 18+) 2,227 5.9%
Puerto Rican 715 13.7%
Child (Age <18) 198 13.9%
Adult (Age 18+) 516 13.6%
Mexican/Mexican American 2,126 6.0%
Child (Age <18) 899 7.3%
Adult (Age 18+) 1,226 5.3%
Federal Poverty Threshold  
Below 100% of poverty level 5,086 11.1%
100% to less than 250% of poverty level 7,664 8.4%
250% to less than 450% of poverty level 4,989 6.3%
450% of poverty level or higher 6,894 6.9%

Note: NH = Non-Hispanic
*Includes persons who answered “yes” to the questions: “Have you EVER been told by a doctor or other health professional that you had asthma?” and “Do you still have asthma?”
**Numbers within selected characteristics may not sum to total due to rounding
As a subset of Hispanic
Source: 2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Data, Table 3-1 and Table 4-1 (Note: Child Age Group data analyzed separately)

National
Prevalence of Asthma Attacks (2015)

Characteristic
Number of persons with current asthma* who reported having one or more asthma attacks (in thousands)
Percent of persons with current asthma* who reported having one or more asthma attacks
Total
11,533
46.9%
Child (Age <18)
2,941
47.5%
Adult (Age 18+)
8,592
46.6%

*Includes persons who answered “yes” to the questions: “Have you EVER been told by a doctor or other health professional that you had asthma?” and “Do you still have asthma?”
Source: 2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Data, Table 5.1 and Table 6.1

National
Asthma Hospital Inpatient Discharges (2010)

Characteristic
Number
Rate* per 10,000
Total 439,435 14.1
Child (Age <18) 136,669 18.3**
Adult (Age 18+) 302,766 13.0**
Race  
White 220,528 8.7
Black 113,522 29.9
Other 27,312 12.6

*Population-based rates age-adjusted to the 2000 standard population
**Rate not age-adjusted
Source: 2010 National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) data

National
Health Care Use:

Number of emergency department visits with asthma as the primary diagnosis (2013): 1.6 million
Number of physician office visits with asthma as the primary diagnosis (2012): 10.5 million
Number of hospital outpatient department visits with asthma as the primary diagnosis (2010): 1.3 million

Sources:
Emergency department visits: Asthma FastStats
Physician office visits: National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2012 State and National Summary Tables. Table 16 [PDF – 1.3 MB].
Hospital outpatient department visits: National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2010 Outpatient Department Summary Tables. Table 11 [PDF – 374 KB]

National
Asthma Mortality (2015)

Characteristic Number of Deaths* Death Rate*,** per million
Total 3,615 10.3
Child (Age <18) 219 3.0
Adult (Age 18+) 3,396 13.7
Race
White NH 2,119 8.4
Black NH 996 23.9
Other NH 195 10.0
Hispanica 305 7.3
Sex
Males 1,388 8.6
    Boys (Age <18) 128 3.4
    Men (Age 18+) 1,260 10.4
Females 2,227 11.5
    Girls (Age <18) 91 2.5
    Women (Age 18+) 2,136 16.8

Note: NH = Non-Hispanic
*Underlying cause of death is asthma
**Population-based rates are age-adjusted to the 2000 standard population
Rates not age-adjusted
aInformation for Hispanic origin was missing for 30 deaths
Source: CDC Wonder

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