2017 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 (2017)

National Current Asthma* Prevalence (2017)
Characteristic** Number with Current Asthma (in thousands) Percent with Current Asthma
Total 25,191 7.9
   Child (Age <18 years) 6,182 8.4
   Adult (Age 18+ years) 19,009 7.7
All Age Groups
   0–4 years 869 4.4
   5–14 years 4,010 9.7
   15–19 years 2,020 9.4
   20–24 years 1,498 7.3
   25–34 years 3,311 7.6
   35–64 years 10,036 8.1
   65+ years 3,447 7.0
Child Age Group
   0–4 years 869 4.4
   5–11 years 2,548 8.8
   12–17 years 2,765 11.1
   Young Teens (12–14 years) 1,462 11.8
   Teenagers (15–17 years) 1,304 10.4
   Adolescents (11–21 years) 4,460 9.7
   Young Adults (22–39 years) 5,727 7.4
Sex
   Males 10,035 6.4
      Boys (Age <18 years) 3,569 9.5
      Men (Age 18+ years) 6,466 5.4
   Females 15,156 9.3
      Girls (Age <18 years) 2,613 7.3
      Women (Age 18+ years) 12,544 9.8
Race/Ethnicity
   White NH 15,718 8.1
      Child (Age <18 years) 2,918 7.7
      Adult (Age 18+ years) 12,800 8.1
   Black NH 3,910 10.1
      Child (Age <18 years) 1,231 12.6
      Adult (Age 18+ years) 2,679 9.2
   Other NH 1,871 6.7
      Child (Age <18 years) 617 8.2
      Adult (Age 18+ years) 1,254 6.1
   Hispanic 3,692 6.4
      Child (Age <18 years) 1,416 7.7
      Adult (Age 18+ years) 2,276 5.8
   Puerto Rican 695 12.8
      Child (Age <18 years) 195 11.3
      Adult (Age 18+ years) 499 13.5
   Mexican/Mexican American 1,822 5.1
      Child (Age <18 years) 753 6.2
      Adult (Age 18+ years) 1,069 4.5
Federal Poverty Threshold
   Below 100% of poverty level 5,020 11.7
   100% to less than 250% of poverty level 6,769 7.9
   250% to less than 450% of poverty level 6,061 7.3
   450% of poverty level or higher 7,342 6.8

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

Relative standard error of the estimate is 30%-50%; the estimate is unreliable.

Source: 2017 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 (2017)

National Prevalence of Asthma Attacks (2017)
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 11,462 45.6
  Child (Age <18 years) 3,184 51.6
  Adult (Age 18+ years) 8,278 43.6

*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: 2017 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), Table 5-1 and Table 6-1

National
Health Care Use* (2016)

National Health Care use* (2016)
  Hospital Inpatient
Stays
Emergency Department
Visits
Physician Office
Visits
Weighted Number of Visits Rate** Weighted Number of Visits Rate** Weighted Number of Visits Rate**
Total 188,968 5.9 1,776,851 55.9 9,789,350 307.8
  Child (Age <18 years) 80,235 10.7 546,013 74.3 2,446,609 332.9
  Adult (Age 18+ years)§ 108,505 4.4 1,230,838 50.3 7,342,741 300.3

*Asthma as the primary diagnosis

**Crude rate per 10,000 population

Rate was calculated using the weighted number of visits for children aged 0-17 years and dividing it by the civilian non-institutionalized population for children aged 0-17 years per 10,000.

§Rate was calculated using the weighted number of visits for adults aged 18+ years divided by the civilian non-institutionalized population for adults aged 18+ years per 10,000.

Sources:
Hospital inpatient stays: HCUPnet, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. https://hcupnet.ahrq.gov/. For more information about HCUP data see http://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/

Emergency department visits: CDC/NCHS. National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS). https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/ahcd/about_ahcd.htm

Physician office visits: CDC/NCHS. National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS). https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/ahcd/about_ahcd.htm

National
Asthma Mortality (2017)

National Asthma Mortality (2017)
Characteristic Number of Deaths* Death Rate*,** per million
Total 3,564 9.9
   Child (Age <18 years) 185 2.5
   Adult (Age 18+ years) 3,379 13.4
Race    
   White NH 2,089 8.1
   Black NH 953 22.7
   Other NH 187 8.9
   Hispanica 322 7.1
Sex
   Males 1,384 8.3
      Boys (Age <18 years) 119 3.2
      Men (Age 18+ years) 1,265 10.3
   Females 2,180 11.0
      Girls (Age <18 years) 66 1.8
      Women (Age 18+ years) 2,114 16.4

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 13 deaths

Source: CDC Wonder