Asthma Fact Sheet April 2021


United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA-402-F-04-019
April 2021
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 2019 National Health Interview Surveys
(NHIS):
•	An estimated 25.1 million people, including 5.1 million children,have asthma.1
•	More than 10.3 million people with asthma, including nearly 2.3 million children, report having had one or
more asthma attacks in 2019.2
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 2015 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey reported 10.1 million physician office visits with asthma
as the primary diagnosis.4
•	The 2018 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey reported that asthma was the primary diagnosis
for more than 1.6 million emergency department visits.5
•	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%).6
Asthma is a common chronic disease in children.
•	In 2019, the prevalence of asthma in children was 7.0 percent, meaning about 1 in 14 children had asthma.1
•	In 2013, approximately 13.8 million missed school days were reported due to asthma.7
Non-Hispanic Blacks have a higher asthma mortality rate than people of other races or ethnicities.
•	According to the CDC's 2019 summary of asthma mortality data, non-Hispanic Black Americans have a
higher asthma death rate - at 23.9 deaths per million persons - than non-Hispanic whites (9.9 deaths per
million persons), Hispanics (6.0 deaths per million persons), and other non-Hispanics (7.2 deaths per million
persons).8
The economic costs of asthma are high.
•	The annual economic cost of asthma in 2013, including medical costs and lost school and work days,
amounted to more than $81.9 billion.9
•	In 2012, the median annual medical cost of asthma was $983 per child, with a range of $833 in Arizona to
$1,121 in Michig an.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. 2019. Most Recent Asthma Data; National Current Asthma Prevalence Table. Accessed April 28, 2021.
https://www.cdc.gov/astlima/most recent national asthma data.htm.
2.	CDC. 2019. Most Recent Asthma Data; National Prevalence of Asthma Attacks among People with Current Asthma by
Age. Accessed April 28, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/astlima/most recent national asthma data.htm.
3.	CDC. 2010. National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Sur\>ey: 2010 Outpatient Department Summary Tables; Table 11.
https://www.cdc.gov/nclis/data/alicd/nliamcs outpatient/2010 opd web tables.pdf.
4.	CDC. 2015. Asthma-related physician office visits 2010-2016: Physician office visits with asthma as the first-listed
diagnosis by patient characteristics, NAMCS, 2014-2016. Accessed March 17, 2021.
https://www.cdc.gov/astlima/astlima stats/astlima-related-phvsician-visits 2010-2016.html.
5.	CDC. 2018. Most Recent Asthma Data; National Health Care Use. Accessed April 28, 2021.
https://www.cdc.gov/astlima/most recent national asthma data.htm.
6.	CDC. 2016. Usual Place for Medical Care Among Children. Accessed April 24, 2018.
https://www.cdc.gov/astlima/astlima stats/usualplaceforcare.htm.
7.	CDC. 2015. Asthma-Related Missed School Days Among Children Aged 5-17 Years. Accessed April 7, 2017.
https://www.cdc.gov/astlima/astlima stats/missing davs.htm.
8.	CDC. 2019. Most Recent Asthma Data; Mortality Table. Accessed April 28, 2021.
https://www.cdc.gov/astlima/most recent national asthma data.htm.
9.	Nurmagambetov, T., Kuwahara, R., Garbe, P. (2017) "The Economic Burden of Asthma in the United States, 2008-2013."
Annuals of the American Thoracic Society: 15(3):348-356.
https://www.atsiournals.org/doi/full/10.1513/AnnalsATS.201703-259QC.
10.	Nurmagambetov T„ Khavjou O., Murphy L., Orenstein D. (2017) "State-Level Medical and Absenteeism Cost of Asthma
in the United States." Journal of Asthma: 54:357-70. https://doi.org/10.1080/02770903.2016.1218Q13.
11.	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. https://www.nature.com/articles/7500165.
12.	Kanchongkittiphon, W., Mendell, M.J., Gaffin, J.M., Wang, G., Pliipatanakul, W. (2015) "Indoor Environmental
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 Environmental Health.
(2016) "Indoor Enviromnental Control Practices and Asthma Management." Pediatrics: 135(5): el-ell.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.Org/content/138/5/e20162589.

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