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: May 2018

Previous Most Recent Asthma 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 [676 – KB]
Physician office visits:National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2014 State and National Summary Tables, Table 16 [613 – KB]

Hospital outpatient department visits:National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2010 Outpatient Department Summary Tables, Table 11 [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
Hispanic^a	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

Quick Links

Most Recent Asthma Data

Previous Most Recent Asthma Data

National Data /State or Territory Data

Prevalence

National Current Asthma* Prevalence (2016)

Asthma Attacks

National Prevalence of Asthma Attacks (2016)

Hospital Discharges

National Asthma Hospital Inpatient Discharges (2010)

Health Care Use

National Health Care Use:

Mortality

National Asthma Mortality (2016)