United States Environmental Protection Agency EPA-402-F-04-019 May 2018 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 and 2016 National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS): An estimated 24.6 million people,1 including 6.1 million children,2 have asthma. More than 11.5 million people with asthma, including nearly 3 million children, report having had one or more asthma attacks in 2015.3 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.4 The 2012 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey reported 10.5 million physician office visits with asthma as the primary diagnosis.5 The National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2014 Emergency Department Summary Tables showed that asthma was the primary diagnosis for more than 2.0 million emergency department visits.6 The 2011-2012 National Survey for Children's Health reported that 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%).7 Asthma is a common chronic disease in children. In 2016, the prevalence of asthma in children was 8.3 percent, meaning about 1 in 12 children had asthma.2 In 2013, approximately 13.8 million missed school days were reported due to asthma.8 Non-Hispanic Blacks have a higher asthma mortality rate than people of other races or ethnicities. According to the CDC's 2015 summary of 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" In 2012, the median annual medical cost of asthma was $983 per child, with a range of $833 in Arizona to $1,121 in Michigan.11 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.12 Indoor environmental factors called asthma triggers - such as dust mites, mold, cockroaches, pet dander and secondhand smoke - can exacerbate asthma symptoms.13 With an asthma action plan that includes medical treatment and control of environmental triggers, people with asthma can lead healthy, active lives.14 Learn more at www.epa.gov/asthma. ------- United States Environmental Protection Agency References 1. CDC. 2015. NHISData; Table 3-1. www.cdc.gov/asthma/nhis/2015/table3-1 .htm. 2. CDC. 2018. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: Vital Signs: Asthma in Children United States, 2001-2016. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6705el.htm. 3. CDC. 2015. NHISData; Table 5-1. www.cdc.gov/asthma/nhis/2015/table5-1 .htm. 4. CDC. 2010. National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Sur\>ey: 2010 Outpatient Department Summary Tables; Table 11. www.cdc.gov/nclis/data/alicd/nliamcs outpatient/2010 opd web tables.pdf. 5. 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. 6. CDC. 2015. National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Sur\>ey: 2014 Emergency Department Summary Tables; Table 12. https://www.cdc.gov/nclis/data/nliamcs/web tables/2014 ed web tables.pdf. 7. CDC. November 2016. Usual Place for Medical Care Among Children. Accessed April 24, 2018. www.cdc.gov/astlima/astlima stats/usualplaceforcare.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 24, 2018. www.cdc.gov/astlima/most recent data.htm. 10. CDC. 2011. "Asthma in the U.S." CDC Vital Signs, www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/astlima. 11. Nurmagambetov T., Khavjou O., Murphy L Orenstein D. "State-level medical and absenteeism cost of asthma in the United States." 2017. Journal of Asthma: 54:357-70. https://doi.org/10.1080/02770903.2016.1218Q13. 12. Klepeis, N.E., Nelson, W.C., Ott, W.R., Robinson, J.P., Tsang, A.M., Switzer, P., Behar, J.V., Hern, S.C., Engelmann, W.H. 2001. "The National Activity Pattern Survey: A Resource for Assessing Exposure to Enviromnental Pollutants. Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology, 11(3):231-52. 13. 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. 14. Matsui, E.C., Abramson, S.L., Sandel, M.T., Section on Allergy and Immunology, Council on Environmental Health. November 2016. "Indoor Enviromnental Control Practices and Asthma Management." Pediatrics: 135(5): el-ell. http://pediatrics.aappublications.Org/content/138/5/e20162589. ------- |