Asthma Statistics

• Approximately 20 million Americans have asthma. 1
• Nine million U.S. children under 18 have been diagnosed with asthma. 2
• More than four million children have had an asthma attack in the previous year. 2
• More than 70% of people with asthma also suffer from allergies. 3
• 10 million Americans suffer specifically from allergic asthma. 4
• The prevalence of asthma increased 75% from 1980-1994. 5
• Asthma rates in children under the age of five have increased more than 160% from 1980-1994. 5
• In 2003, there were 12.7 million physician office visits and 1.2 million outpatient department visits due to asthma. 1
• There were 1.9 million asthma-related visits to emergency departments in 2002. 1
• There are approximately 5,000 deaths from asthma annually. 1
• Direct health care costs for asthma in the United States total more than $11.5 billion annually; indirect costs (lost productivity) add another $4.6 billion for a total of $16.1 billion. Prescription drugs represented the largest single direct medical expenditure, over $5 billion. 1
• 12.8 million school days are missed annually due to asthma. 1
• The value of reduced productivity due to death represented the largest single indirect cost related to asthma, approaching $1.7 billion. 1
• Asthma accounts for approximately 24.5 million missed work days for adults annually. 1
• Asthma prevalence is 39% higher in African Americans than in whites. 1
• The prevalence of asthma in adult females was 35% greater than the rate in males, in 2003. 1
• Approximately 40% of children who have asthmatic parents will develop asthma. 6

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References:

1. American Lung Association. Epidemiology & statistics Unit, Research and Program Services. Trends in Asthma Morbidity and Mortality May 2005.
2. Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Children: National Health Interview Survey, 2002. Series 10, Number 221.2004-1549
3. National Library of Medicine. Understanding Allergy and Asthma. National Institutes of Health.
4. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. Fact Sheet #9: Asthma and its Environmental Triggers: Scientists Take a Practical New Look at a Familiar Illness www.niehs.nih.gov/oc/factsheets/asthma.htm
5. Centers for Disease Control. Surveillance for Asthma – United States, 1960-1995, MMWR. 1998; 47 (SS-1).
6. Martinez FD, Wright AL, Taussig LM, et al.: Asthma and wheezing in the first six years of life,” N Engl J Med 1995; 332:133-138.

(American Academy of Asthma, Allergy, & Immunology)

Statistics

Statistics related to asthma and allergies:

According to the latest available from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), consider the following statistics:

Asthma:

• More than 17 million people in the US have been diagnosed with asthma.
• Asthma is the sixth most common chronic condition in the US.
• Asthma affects more than 4.8 million US children, making it the most common serious and chronic disease among children.
• Asthma accounts for 10 million absences from school each year.
• Asthma is 26 percent more prevalent in African-American children than in Caucasian children.
• African-American children with asthma, most often from inner city populations, generally experience more severe disability from asthma and have more frequent hospitalizations than do Caucasian children.
• Asthma is the third most common cause of childhood hospitalizations under the age of 15.
• More than 200,000 children with asthma experience more severe symptoms due to exposure to secondhand smoke.
• About 10 million visits annually to office-based physicians result in a diagnosis of asthma.
• Asthma cases and asthma deaths have been on the rise. From 1979 to 1996, asthma deaths have risen 120 percent from 2,598 to 5,667.
• Hospitalizations for asthma have increased 256 percent from 1979 to 1996, to 474,100 people annually.
• Asthma treatment costs an estimated $11.3 billion, including direct and indirect expenditures each year.
• Asthma causes nearly 3 million lost workdays each year for people over age 18. 

Allergy:

• Previous surveys estimate that allergies affect as many as 40 to 50 million people in the US.
• Pollen allergy (hay fever or allergic rhinitis) affects nearly 10 percent of the people in the US (26 million people), not including those with asthma.
• Allergic dermatitis (itchy rash) is the most common skin condition in children younger than 11 years of age.
• Urticaria (hives; raised areas of reddened skin that become itchy) and angioedema (swelling of throat tissues) together affect approximately 15 percent of the US population every year.
• Chronic sinusitis, most often caused by allergies, affects nearly 35 million people in the US.
• Allergic drug reactions, commonly caused by antibiotics such as penicillin and cephalosporins, occur in 2 to 3 percent of hospitalized patients.
• Eight percent of children younger than 6 years old experience food intolerances. Of this group, 2 to 4 percent appear to have reproducible allergic reactions to food. In adults, an estimated 1 to 2 percent are sensitive to foods or food additives.
• A severe allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis occurs in 3.3 percent of the US population as a result of insect stings. At least 40 deaths each year result from insect sting anaphylaxis.