2016 Archived National Asthma Data

These tables feature the national and state statistics on the burden of asthma among children and adults previously published on the Most Recent Asthma Data website. 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.

Archived National Data

National
Current Asthma* Prevalence (2016)

National Current Asthma Prevalence (2016)
Characteristic** Number with Current
Asthma (in thousands)
Percent with
Current Asthma
Total 26,515 8.3
Child (Age <18 years) 6,132 8.3
Adult (Age 18+ years) 20,383 8.3
All Age Groups
0-4 years 767 3.8
5-14 years 4,141 10.1
15-19 years 2,085 10.0
20-24 years 1,993 9.5
25-34 years 3,087 7.1
35-64 years 10,914 8.8
65+ years 3,529 7.4
Child Age Group
0-4 years 767 3.8
5-11 years 2,750 9.6
12-17 years 2,615 10.5
Young Teens (12–14 years) 1,391 11.2
Teenagers (15–17 years) 1,224 9.9
Adolescents (11–21 years) 4,653 10.1
Young Adults (22–39 years) 5,895 7.7
Sex
Males 10,728 6.9
Boys (Age <18 years) 3,461 9.2
Men (Age 18+ years) 7,268 6.2
Females 15,787 9.7
Girls (Age <18 years) 2,671 7.4
Women (Age 18+ years) 13,116 10.4
Race/Ethnicity
White NH 16,107 8.3
Child (Age <18 years) 2,687 7.1
Adult (Age 18+ years) 13,420 8.5
Black NH 4,480 11.6
Child (Age <18 years) 1,561 15.7
Adult (Age 18+ years) 2,919 10.2
Other NH 2,194 8.0
Child (Age <18 years) 651 8.8
Adult (Age 18+ years) 1,543 7.7
Hispanic 3,735 6.6
Child (Age <18 years) 1,233 6.7
Adult (Age 18+ years) 2,501 6.5
Puerto Rican 847 14.3
Child (Age <18 years) 236 12.9
Adult (Age 18+ years) 641 14.9
Mexican/Mexican American 1,982 5.7
Child (Age <18 years) 760 6.5
Adult (Age 18+ years) 1,223 5.3
Federal Poverty Threshold
Below 100% of poverty level 5,316 11.8
100% to less than 250% of poverty level 7,811 8.9
250% to less than 450% of poverty level 6,081 7.4
450% of poverty level or higher 7,307 7.1

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: 2016 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Data

National
Prevalence of Asthma Attacks (2016)

Prevalence of Asthma Attacks (20146)
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 12,426 46.9
Child (Age <18 years) 3,290 53.7
Adult (Age 18+ years) 9,137 44.9

*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: 2016 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Data

National
Asthma Hospital Inpatient Discharges (2010)

Hospital Inpatient Discharges (2010)
Characteristic Number Rate* per 10,000
Total 439,435 14.1
Child (Age <18 years) 136,669 18.3**
Adult (Age 18+ years) 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:

National Health Care Use
Types of Visits Number of Visits
Number of emergency department visits with asthma as the primary diagnosis (2015): 1.7 million
Number of physician office visits with asthma as the primary diagnosis (2014): 11.0 million
Number of hospital outpatient department visits with asthma as the primary diagnosis (2010): 1.3 million

Sources:
Emergency department visits: National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2015 Emergency Department Summary Tables, Table 12 pdf icon[676 – KB]
Physician office visits:National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2014 State and National Summary Tables, Table 16 pdf icon[613 – KB]

Hospital outpatient department visits:National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2010 Outpatient Department Summary Tables, Table 11 pdf icon[PDF- 374KB]

National
Asthma Mortality (2016)

Asthma Mortality (2016)
Characteristic Number of Deaths* Death Rate*,** per million
Total 3,518 10.0
Child (Age <18 years) 209 2.8
Adult (Age 18+ years) 3,309 13.3
Race
White NH 2,042 8.2
Black NH 951 23.3
Other NH 174 8.5
Hispanica 334 7.8
Sex
Males 1,356 8.5
Boys (Age <18 years) 128 3.4
Men (Age 18+ years) 1,228 10.1
Females 2,162 11.2
Girls (Age <18 years) 81 2.2
Women (Age 18+ years) 2,081 16.3

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 17 deaths
Source: CDC Wonder

Webpage last updated: May 2019

Page last reviewed: May 15, 2018