Most Recent National 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.
See also: State or Territory Data, Archived Most Recent Data
National Data
National
Current Asthma1 Prevalence by Select Sociodemographic Characteristics (2021)
Characteristic2 | Weighted Number With Current Asthma1 | Percent3 With Current Asthma1 (SE) |
---|---|---|
Total | 24,963,874 | 7.7 (0.18) |
Children (Age <18 years) | 4,675,475 | 6.5 (0.32) |
Adults (Age 18+ years) | 20,288,399 | 8.0 (0.20) |
Age Groups (Years) | ||
0–4 | 369,646 | 1.9 (0.34) |
5–11 | 2,103,060 | 7.5 (0.58) |
5–14 | 3,123,903 | 7.7 (0.47) |
5-17 (School Age) | 4,305,830 | 8.1 (0.42) |
12-14 (Young Teens) | 1,020,843 | 8.0 (0.84) |
12-17 | 2,202,770 | 8.7 (0.63) |
15-17 (Teenagers) | 1,181,927 | 9.5 (0.88) |
15–19 | 1,861,744 | 9.0 (0.76) |
11-21 (Adolescents) | 3,806,569 | 8.4 (0.52) |
20–24 | 1,969,576 | 9.5 (0.96) |
22-39 (Young Adults) | 6,331,558 | 8.2 (0.38) |
25–34 | 3,507,788 | 7.8 (0.48) |
35–64 | 10,079,876 | 8.2 (0.27) |
65+ | 4,034,264 | 7.2 (0.33) |
Sex4 | ||
Males | 10,273,831 | 6.5 (0.22) |
Boys (Age <18 years) | 2,695,146 | 7.3 (0.49) |
Men (Age 18+ years) | 7,578,685 | 6.2 (0.25) |
Females | 14,690,043 | 8.9 (0.26) |
Girls (Age <18 years) | 1,980,329 | 5.6 (0.41) |
Women (Age 18+ years) | 12,709,714 | 9.7 (0.30) |
Poverty Level5 | ||
Below 100% of the poverty threshold | 3,812,653 | 10.4 (0.61) |
100% to less than 250% of the poverty threshold | 7,264,566 | 8.2 (0.35) |
250% to less than 450% of the poverty threshold | 6,155,634 | 7.1 (0.31) |
450% of poverty threshold or higher | 7,731,021 | 6.8 (0.28) |
Abbreviations: NH = Non-Hispanic, SE = Standard Error
1Persons 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?”
2Numbers within selected characteristics may not sum to total due to rounding and missing values.
3The weighted number of survey participants of the intended population group with current asthma divided by the weighted number of all survey participants in the intended population group and then multiply by 100.
4Persons who answered “male” or “female” to the question “Are you male or female?”
5Poverty level is based on family income and family size using the U.S. Census Bureau’s poverty thresholds. Poverty level was calculated separately using 10 imputed income files.
Source: 2021 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Data (Note: some detailed age group data was analyzed separately).
Current Asthma1 Prevalence by Race and Ethnicity Among Children and Adults (2019–2021)
Race and Ethnicity | Total2 With Current Asthma1 |
Children Age <18 years With Current Asthma1 |
Adults Age 18+ years With Current Asthma1 |
|||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weighted Number | Percent3 (SE) | Weighted Number | Percent3 (SE) | Weighted Number | Percent3 (SE) | |
White NH | 14,806,266 | 7.6 (0.14) | 2,074,381 | 5.5 (0.25) | 12,731,885 | 8.0 (0.16) |
Black NH | 4,207,324 | 10.9 (0.41) | 1,058,310 | 11.6 (0.81) | 3,149,013 | 10.7 (0.45) |
AI/AN NH4 | 565,984 | 12.3 (1.05) | 103,757 | 9.2 (1.64) | 426,227 | 13.3 (1.23) |
Asian NH | 743,633 | 4.1 (0.32) | 108,819 | 3.3 (0.53) | 634,814 | 4.2 (0.35) |
Multiple NH5 | 624,874 | 10.3 (0.85) | 221,110 | 7.4 (0.85) | 403,763 | 13.2 (1.46) |
Hispanic | 3,916,576 | 6.4 (0.25) | 1,102,471 | 5.9 (0.37) | 2,814,105 | 6.7 (0.30) |
Mexican6 | 1,967,523 | 5.4 (0.30) | 605,788 | 5.2 (0.44) | 1,361,736 | 5.5 (0.37) |
Other Hispanic6 | 1,896,557 | 8.0 (0.40) | 483,257 | 7.1 (0.67) | 1,413,299 | 8.3 (0.49) |
Abbreviations: NH = Non-Hispanic, AI/AN = American Indian/ Alaska Native, SE = Standard Error
1Persons 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?"
2Total may not equal to the sum of children and adults due to rounding and varying missing values.
3The weighted number of survey participants of the intended population group with current asthma divided by the weighted number of all survey participants in the intended population group and then multiply by 100.
4NH AI/AN only and NH AI/AN with any other group.
5Subcategory includes "Other single and multiple races".
6As a subset of Hispanic.
Source: 2019–2021 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).
National
Prevalence of Asthma Attacks1 Among Children and Adults With Current Asthma2 (2021)
Characteristic | Weighted Number With Asthma Attack1 | Percent3 (SE) |
---|---|---|
Total | 9,818,458 | 39.4 (1.05) |
Children (Age <18 years) | 1,811,063 | 38.7 (2.51) |
Adults (Age 18+ years) | 8,007,395 | 39.6 (1.18) |
Abbreviations: SE = Standard Error
1Having had one or more asthma attacks in the past 12 months among people with current asthma.
2Persons 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?"
3The weighted number of survey participants of the intended population group who had one or more asthma attacks in the past 12 months among people with current asthma divided by the weighted number of all survey participants in the intended population group and then multiply by 100.
Source: 2021 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)
Prevalence of Asthma Attacks1 Among Children and Adults With Current Asthma2 by Race, Ethnicity, and Age (2019–2021)
Race and Ethnicity | Total3 With Asthma Attack |
Children Age <18 years With Asthma Attack1 |
Adults Age 18+ years With Asthma Attack1 |
|||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weighted Number | Percent4 (SE) | Weighted Number | Percent4 (SE) | Weighted Number | Percent4 (SE) | |
White NH | 6,228,357 | 42.1 (0.85) | 884,799 | 42.7 (2.12) | 5,343,559 | 42.0 (0.95) |
Black NH | 1,570,637 | 37.6 (1.97) | 415,410 | 39.3 (3.55) | 1,155,228 | 37.0 (2.15) |
AI/AN NH5 | 248,982 | 44.0 (5.37) | 49,698 | 47.9 (10.60) | 199,284 | 43.1 (5.59) |
Asian NH | 297,084 | 40.1 (3.90) | 47,159 | 43.3 (7.76) | 249,925 | 39.6 (4.19) |
Multiple NH6 | 226,121 | 36.3 (4.06) | 106,438 | 48.1 (6.13) | 119,683 | 29.8 (5.15) |
Hispanic | 1,560,489 | 39.8 (1.99) | 454,698 | 41.2 (3.58) | 1,105,791 | 39.3 (2.42) |
Mexican7 | 746,911 | 38.0 (2.83) | 243,092 | 40.1 (5.00) | 503,819 | 37.0 (3.74) |
Other Hispanic7 | 785,373 | 41.4 (2.59) | 203,114 | 42.0 (5.10) | 582,258 | 41.2 (3.01) |
Abbreviations: NH = Non-Hispanic, AI/AN = American Indian/ Alaska Native, SE = Standard Error.
1Having had one or more asthma attacks in the past 12 months among people with current asthma.
2Persons 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?”
3Total may not equal to the sum of children and adults due to rounding and missing values.
4The weighted number of survey participants of the intended population group who had one or more asthma attacks in the past 12 months among people with current asthma divided by the weighted number of all survey participants with current asthma in the intended population group and then multiply by 100.
5NH AI/AN only and NH AI/AN with any other group combined.
6Subcategory includes “Other single and multiple races”.
7As a subset of Hispanic.
Source: 2019–2021 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).
National
Asthma Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalizations Among Children and Adults1 (2020)
Emergency Department Visits | Hospital Inpatient Stays | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Weighted Number of Visits | Rate2 (SE) | Weighted Number of Visits | Rate2 (SE) | |
Total | 986,453 | 29.8 (0.98) | 94,560 | 2.9 (0.06) |
Children (Age <18 years)3 | 270,330 | 36.4 (2.69) | 27,055 | 3.6 (0.21) |
Adults (Age 18+ years)4 | 716,117 | 27.8 (0.89) | 67,505 | 2.6 (0.05) |
Abbreviation: SE = Standard Error
Notes:
For detailed estimates refer to 2020 Asthma-related Healthcare Use data web tables: https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/national-surveillance-data/healthcare-use.htm.
Note: in 2020 transitioned to using HCUP data to calculate asthma Emergency Department visits
1Asthma as the primary diagnosis (ICD-10-CM Code: J45).
2Crude rate per 10,000 U.S. Census 2020 population.
3Rate was calculated using the weighted number of visits for children aged 0–17 years divided by the U.S. Census 2020 resident population for children aged 0–17 years and multiplied by 10,000.
4Rate was calculated using the weighted number of visits for adults aged 18+ years divided by the U.S. Census 2020 resident population for adults aged 18+ years and multiplied by 10,000.
Data sources:
Emergency department visits: HCUP, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, National (Nationwide) Emergency Department Samples (NEDS).
Hospital inpatient stays: HCUP, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project National (Nationwide) Inpatient Sample (NIS). Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. For more information about HCUP data see https://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/.
Asthma Mortality by Select Sociodemographic Characteristics (2021)
Characteristic1 | Number of Deaths2 | Death Rate2 Per Million (SE) |
---|---|---|
Total | 3,517 | 10.6 (0.18) |
Children (Age <18 years)3 | 145 | 2.0 (0.16) |
Adults (Age 18+ years)4 | 3,372 | 13.1 (0.22) |
Age Groups (Years) | ||
0–4 | 26 | 1.4 (0.27) |
5–11 | 68 | 2.4 (0.29) |
12–17 | 51 | 2.0 (0.27) |
18–24 | 113 | 3.8 (0.35) |
25–34 | 293 | 6.4 (0.38) |
35–64 | 1,453 | 11.5 (0.30) |
65+ | 1,513 | 27.1 (0.70) |
Sex5 | ||
Males | 1,430 | 8.7 (0.23) |
Age <18 years | 89 | 2.4 (0.25) |
Age 18+ years | 1,341 | 10.6 (0.29) |
Females | 2,087 | 12.5 (0.27) |
Age <18 years | 56 | 1.6 (0.25) |
Age 18+ years | 2,031 | 15.4 (0.34) |
Race/Ethnicity | ||
White NH | 1,929 | 9.8 (0.22) |
Children (Age <18 years) | 36 | 1.0 (0.17) |
Adults (Age 18+ years) | 1,893 | 11.8 (0.27) |
Black NH | 1,020 | 24.4 (0.76) |
Children (Age <18 years) | 78 | 7.7 (0.87) |
Adults (Age 18+ years) | 942 | 29.7 (0.97) |
AI/AN NH | 19 | —6 (1.78) |
Children (Age <18 years) | —7 | —7 |
Adults (Age 18+ years) | 18 | —6 (2.29) |
Asian or NH/OPI NH | 139 | 6.8 (0.58) |
Children (Age <18 years) | —7 | —7 |
Adults (Age 18+ years) | 139 | 8.6 (0.73) |
Hispanic8 | 366 | 5.8 (0.31) |
Children (Age <18 years) | 27 | 1.4 (0.27) |
Adults (Age 18+ years) | 339 | 7.8 (0.42) |
Abbreviations: NH = Non-Hispanic, AI/AN = American Indian or Alaska Native, NH/OPI = Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, SE = Standard Error
1Numbers within selected characteristics may not sum to total due to rounding and missing values.
2Asthma as the underlying cause of death (ICD-10 codes J45–J46).
3Crude rate of child deaths was calculated using the number of deaths for children aged 0–17 years and dividing it by the U.S. Census 2021 resident population for children aged 0–17 years per 1,000,000.
4Crude rate of adult deaths was calculated using the number deaths for adults aged 18+ years divided by the U.S. Census 2021 resident population for adults aged 18+ years per 1,000,000.
5Variable includes categories female and male as reported in death certificate.
6Rates are unreliable when the number of deaths is less than 20.
7Data are suppressed when the number of deaths is 9 or fewer.
8Information for Hispanic origin was missing for suppressed number of deaths.
Source: CDC/NCHS, Division of Vital Statistics CDC Wonder