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: June 2017

National Data / State or Territory Data

National
Current Asthma* Prevalence (2015)

Characteristic^**	Number with Current Asthma (in thousands)	Percent with Current Asthma
Total	24,633	7.8%
Child (Age <18)	6,188	8.4%
Adult (Age 18+)	18,445	7.6%
All Age Groups
0-4 years	935	4.7%
5-14 years	4,033	9.8%
15-19 years	2,107	10.2%
20-24 years	1,655	7.6%
25-34 years	2,916	6.8%
35-64 years	9,907	8.0%
65+ years	3,079	6.6%
Child Age Group
0-4 years	935	4.7%
5-11 years	2,761	9.6%
12-17 years	2,492	10.0%
Young Teens (12–14 years)	1,272	10.3%
Teenagers (15–17 years)	1,219	9.8%
Adolescents (11–21 years)	4,415	9.8%
Young Adults (22–39 years)	5,429	7.1%
Sex
Males	9,998	6.5%
Boys (Age <18)	3,705	9.9%
Men (Age 18+)	6,293	5.4%
Females	14,634	9.1%
Girls (Age <18)	2,483	6.9%
Women (Age 18+)	12,151	9.7%
Race/Ethnicity
White NH	15,244	7.8%
Child (Age <18)	2,810	7.4%
Adult (Age 18+)	12,435	7.9%
Black NH	3,931	10.3%
Child (Age <18)	1,336	13.4%
Adult (Age 18+)	2,595	9.1%
Other NH	1,793	6.9%
Child (Age <18)	605	8.4%
Adult (Age 18+)	1,188	6.3%
Hispanic	3,665	6.6%
Child (Age <18)	1,438	8.0%
Adult (Age 18+)	2,227	5.9%
Puerto Rican^†	715	13.7%
Child (Age <18)	198	13.9%
Adult (Age 18+)	516	13.6%
Mexican/Mexican American^†	2,126	6.0%
Child (Age <18)	899	7.3%
Adult (Age 18+)	1,226	5.3%
Federal Poverty Threshold
Below 100% of poverty level	5,086	11.1%
100% to less than 250% of poverty level	7,664	8.4%
250% to less than 450% of poverty level	4,989	6.3%
450% of poverty level or higher	6,894	6.9%

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: 2015 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 (2015)

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	11,533	46.9%
Child (Age <18)	2,941	47.5%
Adult (Age 18+)	8,592	46.6%

*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: 2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Data, Table 5.1 and Table 6.1

National
Asthma Hospital Inpatient Discharges (2010)

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

Number of emergency department visits with asthma as the primary diagnosis (2013):	1.6 million
Number of physician office visits with asthma as the primary diagnosis (2012):	10.5 million
Number of hospital outpatient department visits with asthma as the primary diagnosis (2010):	1.3 million

Sources:
Emergency department visits: Asthma FastStats
Physician office visits: National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2012 State and National Summary Tables. Table 16 [PDF – 1.3 MB].
Hospital outpatient department visits: National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2010 Outpatient Department Summary Tables. Table 11 [PDF – 374 KB]

National
Asthma Mortality (2015)

Characteristic	Number of Deaths^*	Death Rate^,* per million
Total	3,615	10.3
Child (Age <18)	219	3.0^†
Adult (Age 18+)	3,396	13.7^†
Race
White NH	2,119	8.4
Black NH	996	23.9
Other NH	195	10.0
Hispanic^a	305	7.3
Sex
Males	1,388	8.6
Boys (Age <18)	128	3.4^†
Men (Age 18+)	1,260	10.4^†
Females	2,227	11.5
Girls (Age <18)	91	2.5^†
Women (Age 18+)	2,136	16.8^†

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 30 deaths
Source: CDC Wonder

Quick Links

Most Recent Asthma Data

National Current Asthma* Prevalence (2015)

National Prevalence of Asthma Attacks (2015)

National Asthma Hospital Inpatient Discharges (2010)

National Health Care Use:

National Asthma Mortality (2015)