Statistics

  • 20.3 million Americans reported having asthma in 2001.1
  • 6.3 million children under 18 reported having asthma in 2001.1
  • In 2001, 12 million people had experienced an asthma attack in the previous year.1
  • In 2000, there were 10.4 million asthma-related outpatient visits to private physician offices and hospital clinics (4.6 million of these involved children under 18).1
  • There were 1.8 million asthma-related visits to emergency departments in 2000 (more than 728,000 of these involved children under 18).1
  • There were 465,000 asthma-related hospitalizations in 2000 (214,000 of these involved children under 18).1
  • In 2000, 4,487 people died from asthma (223 of these were children under 18).1
  • Asthma-related healthcare costs are estimated at $14 billion annually.2
  • Asthma accounts for 14 million missed school days annually.3
  • Asthma accounts for approximately 14.5 million missed work days for adults annually.3

1 “Asthma Prevalence, Health Care Use, and Mortality, 2000-2001,” National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2 “Morbidity & Mortality: 2002 Chart Book on Cardiovascular, Lung, and Blood Diseases,” National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, May 2002. 3 “Surveillance for Asthma – United States, 1980-1999,” MMWR Surveillance Summaries, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, March 29, 2002.

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  How many Americans have ever had asthma?
 

The most recently available data is from the 2004 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Based on the proportion of respondents who answered "yes" to the question: "Has a doctor or other health professional ever told you that you had asthma?" it is estimated that 10.5% (30.2 million) of the US population have been diagnosed with asthma in their lifetime. This includes 9.9% (21.3 million) of adults 18 years and over, and 12.2% (8.9 million) of children under age 18 years. Lifetime asthma diagnosis is not a measure of the current public health problem of asthma-it is important to identify those with current active symptoms as well as those whose asthma is under control through medication or other means. Based on the persons who also answered yes to the subsequent question: "During the past 12 months have you had an episode of asthma or an asthma attack?" an estimated 4.1% (11.7 million) of the US population had a recent asthma attack. Among children under age 18 years, 5.4% (4.0 million) had at least one asthma asthma attack in the past 12 months. Among adults 18 years and over, 3.6% (7.7 million) had at least one asthma asthma attack in the past 12 months. This is a useful public health measure because it provides an estimate of people with asthma who are at risk of poor health outcomes and who use more health care resources..

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