United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA-402-F-04-019
May 2017
ASTHMA FACTS
Asthma continues to be a serious public health problem in the United States.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s 2015 National Health Interview Survey
(NHIS):
•	An estimated 24.6 million people, including 6.2 million children, have asthma.1
•	More than 11.5 million people with asthma, including nearly 3 million children, report having had one or
more asthma attacks in 2015.2
Uncontrolled asthma is a common reason people seek medical attention.
•	The 2010 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey reported 1.3 million outpatient department
visits with asthma as the primary diagnosis.3
•	The 2012 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey reported 10.5 million physician office visits with asthma
as the primary diagnosis.4
•	In 2013, the most recent national data available showed that asthma was the primary diagnosis for more than
1.5 million emergency department visits.5
•	Children who have asthma (3.4%) are more likely to use a hospital emergency department as their usual place
for medical care than children without asthma (2.1%).6
Asthma is a common chronic disease in children.
•	In 2015, the prevalence of asthma in children was 8.4 percent,7 which means about 1 in 12 children had
asthma.
•	In 2013, approximately 13.8 million missed school days were reported due to asthma.8
Black Americans in the United States die from asthma at a higher rate than people of other races or ethnicities.
•	According to the CDC's 2015 summary of the most recent asthma mortality data, black Americans have a
higher asthma death rate - at 23.9 deaths per million persons - than non-Hispanic whites (8.4 deaths per
million persons), Hispanics (7.3 deaths per million persons), and other non-Hispanics (10.0 deaths per million
persons).9
The economic costs of asthma are high.
•	The annual economic cost of asthma in 2007, including medical costs and lost school and work days,
amounted to more than $56 billion.1"
Reducing exposure to environmental factors, such as indoor asthma triggers, is important for asthma
management.
•	On average, Americans spend about 90 percent of their time indoors.11
•	Indoor environmental factors called asthma triggers - such as dust mites, mold, cockroaches, pet dander and
secondhand smoke - can exacerbate asthma symptoms.12
•	With an asthma action plan that includes medical treatment and control of environmental triggers, people with
asthma can lead healthy, active lives.13
Learn more at www.epa. gov/asthma.

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United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
References
1.	CDC. 2015. NHISData; Table 3-1. www.cdc.gov/asthma/nhis/2015/table3-1 .htm.
2.	CDC. 2015. NHISData; Table 5-1. www.cdc.gov/asthma/nhis/2015/table5-1 .htm.
3.	CDC. 2010. National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Sur\>ey: 2010 Outpatient Department Summary Tables; Table 11.
www.cdc.gov/nclis/data/alicd/nlTamcs outpatient/2010 opd web tables.pdf.
4.	CDC. 2012. National Ambulatory Medical Care Sur\>ey: 2012 State and National Summary Tables; Table 16.
www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ahcd/namcs summary/2012 names web tables.pdf.
5.	CDC. 2013. National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Sur\>ey; 2013 Emergency Department Summary Tables; Table
12. www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ahcd/nliamcs emergencv/2013 ed web tables.pdf.
6.	CDC. November 2016. Usual Place for Medical Care Among Children. Accessed April 7, 2017.
www.cdc.gov/astlima/astlima stats/usualplaceforcare.htm.
7.	CDC. 2015. NHISData; Table 4-1. www.cdc.gov/asthma/nhis/2015/table4-1 .htm.
8.	CDC. October 2015. "Asthma-Related Missed School Days Among Children Aged 5-17 Years." AsthmaStats
Factsheet. Accessed April 7, 2017. www.cdc.gov/astlima/astlima stats/missing davs.htm.
9.	CDC. 2015. Most Recent Asthma Data; Mortality Table. Accessed April 11, 2017.
www.cdc.gov/astlima/most recent data.htm.
10.	CDC. May 2011. "Asthma in the U.S." CDC Vital Signs, www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/asthma.
11.	Klepeis, N.E., et al. 2001. "The National Activity Pattern Survey: A Resource for Assessing Exposure to Enviromnental
Pollutants." Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, https://indoor.lbl.gov/sites/all/files/lbnl-47713.pdf.
12.	Kanchongkittiphon. W., Mendell, M.J., Gaffin. J.M., Wang, G., Pliipatanakul, W. January 2015. "Indoor Enviromnental
Exposures and Exacerbation of Asthma: An Update to the 2000 Review by the Institute of Medicine." Environmental
Health Perspectives; 123:6-20. https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1307922.
13.	Matsui, E.C., Abramson, S.L., Sandel, M.T., Section on Allergy and Immunology, Council on Enviromnental Health.
November 2016. "Indoor Enviromnental Control Practices and Asthma Management." Pediatrics: 135(5).
http://pediatrics.aappublications.Org/content/138/5/e20162589.

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