Trends in Asthma Morbidity and Mortality 

American Lung Association 

Epidemiology and Statistics Unit 

Research and Program Services Division 

February 2010 
Table of Contents

Asthma Mortality, 1979-1998, 1999-2006 

Asthma Prevalence, 1982-1996 and 1997-2008 

Asthma Hospital Discharges, 1979-2006 

Asthma Ambulatory Care Visits, 1989-2006 

Economic Cost of Asthma, 2010 

Glossary and References 

List of Tables

Table 1: Asthma – Number of Deaths by Race and Sex, 1979-1998, 1999-2006 

Table 2: Asthma – Age-Adjusted Death Rate per 100,000 population, by Race and Sex, 1979-1998, 1999-2006 

Table 3: Asthma – Number of Deaths and Age-Adjusted Death Rate per 100,000 population by Ethnic Origin and 

Sex, 1999-2006 

Table 4: Asthma – Number of Deaths in 10-Year Age Groups, 1979-1998, 1999-2006 

Table 5: Asthma – Mortality Rate per 100,000 population, by 10-Year Age Groups, 1979-1998, 1999-2006 

Table 6: Asthma – Number of People Ever Told by a Health Professional that they had Asthma and Prevalence 

Rate per 1,000 population, by Age, Sex and Race, 1999-2008 (Lifetime Prevalence) 

Table 7: Asthma – Number of Conditions and Prevalence Rate per 1,000 population by age, 1982-1996, 2001-

2008 (Current Prevalence) 

Table 8: Asthma – Number of Conditions and Prevalence Rate Per 1,000 population by Sex, 1982-1996, 2001-

2008 (Current Prevalence) 

Table 9: Asthma – Number of Conditions and Prevalence rates Per 1,000 population by Race and Age, 1982-

1996, 2001-2008 (Current Prevalence) 

Table 10: Asthma – Number of People Who Had an Asthma Attack or Episode and Prevalence Rate Per 1,000 

population by Age, Sex and Race, 1999-2008 (Attack Prevalence) 

Table 11: Asthma – Number of Conditions and Prevalence Rate per 1,000 population by Ethnic Origin, 1998-2008 

Table 12: Asthma – Estimated Lifetime Prevalence (%) in Adults, by State, 2000-2008 

Table 13: Asthma – Estimated Current Prevalence (%) in Adults, by State, 2000-2008 

Table 14: Asthma – Estimated Lifetime and Current Prevalence (%) in Adults for Selected Areas, 2008 

Table 15: Asthma – Estimated Lifetime and Current Prevalence (%) in Children, by State, 2007 

Table 16: Asthma – Number of First-Listed Hospital Discharges and Rate per 10,000 population by Sex, 1979-

2006 

Table 17: Asthma – Number of First-Listed Hospital Discharges and Rate per 10,000 population by Age, 1979-

2006 

Table 18: Asthma – Number of First-Listed Hospital Discharges and Rate per 10,000 population by Race, 1988-

2006 

Table 19: Asthma – Number of Visits to Physician Offices, Outpatient Departments and Emergency Departments, 

1989-2006 

Table 20: Economic Cost of Asthma, United States, 2010 

List of Figures

Figure 1: Asthma – Age-Adjusted Death Rates Based on the 1940 and 2000 Standard Populations, 1979-2006 

Figure 2: Percentage Distribution of Lifetime Asthma by Sex, Age, Ethnic Origin and Geographic Region, 2008 

Figure 3: Percentage Distribution of Current Asthma by Sex, Age, Ethnic Origin and Geographic Region, 2008 

Figure 4: Percentage Distribution of Asthma Attacks by Sex, Age, Ethnic Origin and Geographic Region, 2008 

Figure 5: Self-Reported Current Asthma Prevalence (%) Among Adults by State, 2008 

Figure 6: Self-Reported Current Asthma Prevalence (%) Among Children by State, 2003 

Figure 7: Asthma – First-Listed Hospital Discharge Rate per 10,000 population by Age, 1979-2006 

Figure 8: Asthma – First-Listed Hospital Discharge Rate per 10,000 population by Race, 1988-2006
Introduction

Many Americans are afflicted by asthma, a serious chronic lung disease caused by continual 

airway inflammation punctuated by episodes or attacks of increased inflammation, often in 

response to specific triggers. These attacks are characterized by difficulty in breathing, which 

occasionally are extreme and can constitute a medical emergency. Over the period 1980 through 

1996, the prevalence of asthma in the United States increased.1 However, since 1999, mortality 

and hospitalizations due to asthma have decreased and asthma prevalence appears to have 

stopped increasing, possibly indicating an improved level of disease management. 

The following report delineates information available from national and state-based surveys on 

the mortality, prevalence, hospitalizations, ambulatory care visits and economic costs due to 

asthma. Since Hispanics can be of any race, comparisons among racial groups are made without 

regard to ethnicity unless otherwise noted. 

Asthma Mortality

Beginning with 1999 mortality data, the population standard used for calculating age-adjusted 

death rates was changed from the 1940 population to the 2000 population.I In addition, starting 

with 1999 data, the tenth revision of international classification of diseases (ICD-10) replaced 

ICD-9 in coding and classifying mortality data from death certificates.II Due to the change in 

age-adjusted standard population and decennial revisions of the International Classification of 

Diseases (ICD) coding system, the number and rate of asthma deaths between 1999 and 2006 are 

not directly comparable to those reported between 1978 and 1998. Figure 1 compares the asthma 

age-adjusted death rates based on the 1940 and 2000 standard populations from 1979-2006. 

Table 1 documents the number of deaths by race and sex between 1979 and 2006. In 2006, 3,613 

people died of asthma. Approximately 64% of these deaths occurred in women. Table 2 displays 

the age-adjusted death rate per 100,000 population by race and sex for the same years. The ageadjusted death rate for 2006 was 1.2 per 100,000. In 2006, the female age-adjusted death rate 

was 44% greater than the rate seen in males. The age-adjusted death rate was three times higher 

among the black population than among the white population (2.7 versus 0.9 per 100,000, 

 

I

 The change from the 1940 standard to the 2000 standard has three important outcomes: (i) provides age-adjusted 

rates that are less divergent from crude rates (ii) ensures that all government agencies use the same standard and (iii) 

corrects the public perception that age adjustment to the 1940 population provides out-of-date statistics. Use of the 

2000 population standard places more weight on death rates at older ages and less weight on death rates at younger 

ages. Because most lung disease rates increase with age, death rates using the new standard are higher than those 

using the old standard. Age-adjusted deaths rates for asthma were approximately 1.4 times greater using the 2000 

standard population than those based on the 1940 standard population. 

II The ICD is periodically revised to reflect changes in the medical field. This change has several consequences: (i) 

new cause-of-death titles and corresponding cause-of-death codes, i.e. ICD-10 has alphanumeric categories rather 

than numeric categories, (ii) breaks in comparability of cause-of-death statistics, and (iii) restructuring of the leading 

causes of death. In order to assess the net effect of the new revision on death statistics, a comparability ratio is 

derived. The comparability ratio is calculated by dividing the number of deaths for a selected cause of death 

classified by the new revision by the number of deaths classified to the most nearly comparable cause of death by 

the previous revision. A comparability ratio of 1 denotes no change between revisions; a ratio of less than 1 

signifies a decrease and a ratio of greater than 1 symbolizes an increase in deaths. The comparability ratio for 

asthma was 0.8938, indicating an 11% decrease in assignments of deaths due to asthma when using ICD-10. 
respectively). Black women had the highest age-adjusted mortality rate due to asthma in 2006 

(2.8 per 100,000).2

Table 3 delineates the number of deaths and age-adjusted death rate per 100,000 population by 

Hispanic origin. In 2006, 257 Hispanics died of asthma – an age-adjusted death rate of 1.0 per 

100,000 population. Age-adjusted death rates in Hispanics were 64% lower than non-Hispanic 

blacks, and 1% higher than non-Hispanic whites.3 However, studies have suggested that Puerto 

Ricans had higher age-adjusted death rates than all other Hispanic subgroups and non-Hispanic 

whites and blacks.4

Tables 4 and 5 delineate the number of deaths and mortality rates for asthma by 10-year age 

groups from 1979 to 2006. Asthma deaths are rare among children and increase with age. In 

2006, 131 children under 15 died from asthma (0.2 per 100,000 population) compared to 653 

adults over 85. The death rate in those 85 and over was 156% greater than the second highest 

mortality rate, seen among those 75-84 years of age (12.3 per 100,000 versus 4.8 per 100,000).5

Unlike morbidity estimates, which are drawn from sample populations and extrapolated to the 

overall population, mortality data is obtained from the general population from death certificates. 

Therefore, sex- and race-specific mortality figures are actual counts that denote differences 

between groups. 

In recent years the number of deaths due to asthma has declined, even after the ICD-10 revision 

is taken into account. The number of asthma deaths has decreased by 22% since 1999. 

Asthma Prevalence

National Health Interview Survey, 1982-1996 and 1997-2008 

The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is a multi-purpose health survey conducted by the 

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

(CDC). It is the principal source of information on the health of the civilian, noninstitutionalized, 

household population of the United States. 

Despite the periodic revision of the NHIS Core questionnaire, Supplements began to play an 

increasingly important role in the survey as a means of enhancing topic coverage in the Core 

section. The unintended result was an increasingly unwieldy survey instrument and longer 

interviewing sessions: recent questionnaires (Core and Supplements combined) ran almost 300 

pages, while the interviews averaged two hours. This imposed an unacceptable burden on NCHS 

staff, US Bureau of Census interviewers, the data collection budget, and on the NHIS 

respondents. Furthermore, the excessive length of NHIS interviews contributed to declines in 

both response rate and data quality. For all these reasons, NCHS implemented a redesigned 

NHIS questionnaire in 1997. 

Between 1997 and 2000, the revised questionnaire made it impossible to compare asthma 

estimates with those prior to 1997. The revised questionnaire evaluated both lifetime and attack 
prevalence of asthma. Respondents or their proxies were asked if they had ever been diagnosed 

with asthma by a health professional in their lifetime and if so, had they had an asthmatic attack 

or episode in the past 12 months. The question on asthma attack prevalence assists public health 

professionals in planning interventions by measuring the population at risk for serious outcomes 

from asthma. 

To improve data quality in 2001, National Health Interview Survey respondents or their proxies 

who answered yes to ever being diagnosed with asthma by a health professional in their lifetime 

were also asked if they still had asthma. This comes closest to the question asked in the National 

Health Interview Survey prior to 1997 – “Has anyone in your family had asthma during the past 

12 months?” 

These estimates most likely reflect an underestimate of true asthma prevalence, since studies 

have shown that there are individuals suffering from undiagnosed asthma.6,7

Lifetime Prevalence

Based on the 2008 NHIS sample, it was estimated that 38.4 million Americans, or 128.5 per 

1,000 persons, had been diagnosed with asthma by a health professional within their lifetime. 

Since 1999, children 5-17 years of age have had the highest prevalence rates. In 2008, 8.7 

million children ages 5-17 had been diagnosed with asthma in their lifetime. These data are 

displayed in Table 6.

8

Females traditionally have consistently higher rates of asthma than males. In 2008, females were 

about 10.5% more likely than males to ever have been diagnosed with asthma.9

Blacks are also more likely to be diagnosed with asthma over their lifetime. In 2008, the 

prevalence rate in blacks was 29.0% higher than the rate in whites.10 The lifetime asthma 

prevalence rates for the two races have been statistically significant every year since 1997. 

Current Prevalence

Data between 1982 and 1996 should not be compared to 2001-2008 estimates. 

Age-specific current asthma prevalence trends are shown in Table 7. Approximately 23.3 

million Americans (including 7.0 million children) had asthma in 2008; a rate of 78.0 per 1,000 

population. The highest prevalence rate was seen in those 5-17 years of age (107.0 per 1,000 

population). Overall, the rate in those under 18 (94.1 per 1,000) was significantly greater than 

those over 18 (71.8 per 1,000).11

 

Sex-specific current asthma prevalence trends are delineated in Table 8. In 2008, 10.4 million 

males and 12.9 million females had asthma. The overall prevalence rate in females (84.6 per 

1,000 persons) was 19% greater than the rate in males (71.1 per 1,000 persons). Among adults 

over 18 years, females were 56% more likely than males to have asthma (88.0 per 1,000 vs. 56.3 

per 1,000). However, this pattern is reversed among children. The current asthma prevalence 
rate for boys under 18 (114.3 per 1,000) was 54% higher than the rate among girls (74.0 per 

1,000). The difference in rates between sexes was statistically significant in both children and 

adults.12

Race- and age-specific current asthma prevalence trends are displayed in Table 9. In 2008, the 

current asthma prevalence rate was 42% higher in blacks than in whites (105.3 per 1,000 persons 

versus 74.4 per 1,000 persons, respectively). This difference between races was statistically 

significant. The highest prevalence rates for whites and blacks were among the 5-17 age group. 

Whites under 5 and blacks 18-44 years old had the lowest prevalence rates compared to other age 

groups within each race.13

Attack Prevalence

Table 10 displays asthma attack prevalence estimates between 1999 and 2008. In 2008, an 

estimated 12.7 million Americans (including 4.1 million children under 18) had an asthma 

attack. This represents 55% of the 23.3 million people who currently have asthma. The asthma 

attack rate was 42.6 per 1,000 population.14

For the past nine years, 5-17 year olds had the highest attack prevalence rates while those over 

65 had the lowest. Since 1999 the asthma attack prevalence rate in those under 18 has been 

significantly greater than among those over 18; in 2008, these rates were 56.0 versus 38.1 per 

1,000 respectively.15

Females tend to have consistently higher attack prevalence rates than males. In 2008, 7.3 million 

females (47.9 per 1,000) had an asthma attack compared to 5.4 million males (37.0 per 1,000). 

The difference in attack prevalence rates between sexes has been significant each year since 

1999.16

The asthma attack prevalence rate in blacks was 45% higher than the rate in whites. This 

difference between races was statistically significant. In 2008, asthma attack prevalence rates in 

whites and blacks were highest among the 5-17 age group and lowest in those 65 years and 

older.17

Asthma in Hispanics

Table 11 displays the number of conditions and prevalence rates by Hispanic origin. In 2008, 4.7 

million Hispanics had been diagnosed with asthma in their lifetime; 2.7 million reported that 

they still have the disease, and 1.6 million of those experienced an asthma attack in the past year. 

Lifetime, current and attack prevalence rates in Hispanics were significantly lower than nonHispanic blacks and non-Hispanic whites in 2008.18 Studies have suggested that within Hispanic 

subgroups, Puerto Ricans may have higher rates of asthma than other Hispanic subgroups and 

non-Hispanic whites.

Percentage Distribution of Conditions
Percentage distributions of lifetime asthma, current asthma and asthma attacks in 2008 are 

displayed in Figures 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Each figure displays the distribution of asthma by 

sex, age group, ethnicity and geographic region. The overall percentage of asthma sufferers tend 

to be highest in the South, in non-Hispanic whites, in 18-44 year olds, and in females.19

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2000-2008 

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a state-based telephone survey of 

the noninstitutionalized U.S. population aged 18 and over that collects information about 

modifiable risk factors for chronic diseases and other leading causes of death. This is the first 

survey to collect state-specific asthma prevalence data for adults. 

Questions on lifetime and current asthma prevalence in the BRFSS are comparable to the 

National Health Interview Survey, but estimates vary due to sampling design. According to the 

2008 BRFSS, an estimated 30.9 million adults (13.3%) had been diagnosed with asthma within 

their lifetime and 19.6 million adults (8.5%) still had asthma in 2008. This compares to 38.4 

million adults (12.9 %) and 23.3 million adults (7.8%) who were diagnosed with lifetime and 

current asthma, respectively, in the 2008 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Confidence 

intervals for the prevalence rates indicate that the estimates from both surveys were statistically 

different.20

Tables 12 and 13 display estimated state-specific lifetime and current asthma prevalence in 

adults between 2000 and 2008. Figure 5 shows the estimated state-specific current asthma 

prevalence for 2008. Current asthma prevalence in adults ranged from 6.6% in Florida to 10.6% 

in Rhode Island.21

In addition to asthma prevalence information by state, the BRFSS has calculated asthma 

prevalence estimates for certain metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas for the years 

2002-2008. Table 14 displays estimated lifetime and current asthma prevalence in adults for 172 

areas in 2008. Out of the selected MSAs, current asthma prevalence in adults ranged from 3.6% 

in Fargo, ND to 13.2% in Rochester, NY.22

National Survey of Children’s Health, 2007 

Recognizing the need for asthma and other health data that could be meaningfully compared 

across states for all children less than 18 years of age, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of 

the Health Resources and Services Administration utilized the State and Local Area Integrated 

Telephone Survey (SLAITS) program to sponsor the National Survey of Children’s Health 

(NSCH). 

The National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) is a state-based telephone survey of 

households with children less than 18 years of age that collects information on a variety of 

physical, emotional, and behavioral health indicators. The respondent was a parent or guardian 

who knew the most about the selected child’s health. This is the second survey to collect statespecific asthma prevalence data in children under 18 years of age; the first took place in 2003. 
Questions on lifetime and current asthma prevalence in the NSCH are identical to those found in 

the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Table 15 displays estimated state-specific 

lifetime and current asthma prevalence in children under 18 in 2007. Figure 6 shows the 

estimated state-specific current asthma prevalence for 2007. Current asthma prevalence in 

children under 18 ranged from 5.2% in South Dakota to 14.4% in Delaware.23 

 

First-Listed Asthma Hospital Discharges

A first listed diagnosis is the diagnosis identified as the principal diagnosis or listed first on the 

medical record. Due to a change in the design of the survey, data from 1988-2006 is not directly 

comparable to that of earlier years. The hospital discharge rate for asthma increased dramatically 

from 1979 to 1988, remained stable in the early 1990s, and peaked at 511,000 discharges (19.5 

per 10,000 population) in 1995. During 2006, 444,000 discharges (14.9 per 10,000 population) 

were attributed to asthma. Between 2003 and 2006 there was a 25% decrease in the 

hospitalization discharge rate for asthma in the United States.24

Table 16 delineates the trend in the number of hospital discharges and rates by sex from 1979 to 

2006. Between 1995 and 2006 the number of hospital discharges decreased 13% overall, 16% in 

males and 12% in females. In 2006, a total of 266,000 discharges were reported in females and 

177,000 were reported in males.25

As shown in Table 17, between 1995 and 2006, hospital discharge rates for asthma decreased in 

all age groups except for those over 65 years of age. Unlike other chronic lung diseases, asthma 

discharges are very common among the pediatric population. Approximately 33% of the asthma 

discharges in 2006 were in those under 15, although only 20.2% of the U.S. population was less 

than 15 years old. Figure 7 depicts this age-specific trend.26 

The trend in hospital discharges by race is delineated in Table 18. The 2006 discharge rate for 

asthma in blacks (29.3 per 10,000) was over 3 times higher than that seen in whites and 4.4 times 

higher than that seen in other races (9.6 and 6.7 per 10,000, respectively). These rates, however, 

should be interpreted with caution due to a large percentage of discharges for which race was not 

reported. Figure 8 displays this race-specific trend.27

Asthma Ambulatory Care Visits

Table 19 displays the trend in visits to physician offices, hospital outpatient departments and 

emergency departments in the United States from 1989-2006. In 2006 there were 10.6 million 

physician office visits, 1.2 million hospital outpatient department visits and almost 1.7 million 

emergency room visits due to asthma.28 

Economic Cost of Asthma

Estimates of direct medical expenditures and indirect costs (in 2010 dollars) attributed to asthma 

are shown in Table 20. Asthma burdens our nation with an annual economic cost of $15.6 billion 

in direct health care costs; indirect costs (lost productivity) add another $5.1 billion for a total of 
$20.7 billion. Prescription drugs represented the largest single direct medical expenditure, at $5.6 

billion.29 

A study by the American Lung Association Asthma Clinical Research Centers found that the 

inactivated influenza vaccine is safe to administer to adults and children with asthma, including 

those with severe asthma.30 Influenza causes substantial morbidity in adults and children with 

asthma, and vaccination can prevent influenza and its complications. Currently, 45.6% of adults 

with asthma receive the influenza vaccine.31 

 

Summary

After a long period of steady increase, evidence suggests that asthma mortality and morbidity 

rates continue to plateau and/or decrease. Mortality figures due to asthma have been continuing 

to decline for the past 6 years. The number of deaths due to asthma in 2006 was approximately 

22.4% lower than the number of deaths seen in 1999.32

Hospital discharges have been declining since 1995. The number of hospital discharges has 

decreased 13% between 1995 and 2006 while the hospital discharge rate has declined 24% since 

it peaked at 19.5 per 10,000 in 1995.33

Lifetime and attack prevalence rates have fluctuated over the past eight years but have remained 

stable. There are only eight years of data on current asthma. Therefore, more years of data from 

the revised National Health Interview Survey are needed to accurately assess the current 

prevalence trend. 

However, asthma remains a major public health concern. In 2008, approximately 23.3 million 

Americans had asthma. In 2008, the condition accounted for an estimated 14.4 million lost 

school days in children and 14.2 million lost work days in adults.34 Asthma is a leading cause of 

activity limitation and costs our nation $20.7 billion in health care costs annually.35
GLOSSARY 

Prevalence: The proportion of existing cases of a particular condition, disease, or other 

occurrence (e.g., persons smoking) at a given time. 

Lifetime Prevalence: The proportion of cases that exist within a population at any point during a 

specified period of time. Therefore, respondents may not still have the 

condition in question. In this report: the proportion of people ever 

receiving a diagnosis of asthma from a health professional. 

Current Prevalence: The proportion of cases that exist within a population at a single point in 

time. In this report: the proportion of people who have ever received a 

diagnosis of asthma and still have the disease. 

Attack Prevalence: The proportion of attacks that occur within a population at a single point 

in time. In this report: the proportion of people who had one or more 

asthma attacks or episodes in the preceding year. This type of period 

prevalence estimate measures for active asthma. 

Crude Rate: Cases in a particular population quantity- e.g. per hundred. 

Age-Adjusted Rate: A figure that is statistically corrected to remove the distorting effect of age 

when comparing populations of different age structures. 

P value: The probability of observing a result as extreme as that observed solely to 

chance. If the p-value is less than or equal to 0.05, then there is no more 

than a 5% chance of seeing that result again, but if the p- value is greater 

than or equal to 0.05, then chance cannot be excluded as a likely 

explanation and the findings are said to be not significant at that level. 

Metropolitan SA: A group of counties with at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more 

inhabitants. 

Micropolitan SA: A group of counties with at least one urban cluster of at least 10,000 but 

less than 50,000 inhabitants. 
Sources: 

 

1

 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Surveillance for Asthma – United States, 1980-2004.

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. October 19, 2007; 56(SS08):1-14, 18-54. 2

 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics Reports. 

Deaths: Final Data for 1979-2006. April 17, 2010. Vol 57, No 14. 

3

 Ibid. 

4

 Homa D et al. Asthma Mortality in U.S. Hispanics of Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban Heritage, 1990-1995. 

American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 2000; 161:504-9. 5

 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics Reports. 

Deaths: Final Data for 1979-2006. April 17, 2010. Vol 57, No 14. 

6

 Perry TT, Vargas PA, McCracken A, Jones SM. Underdiagnosed and Uncontrolled Asthma: Findings in Rural 

Schoolchildren from the Delta Region of Arkansas. Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. October 2008; 

101(4):375-81. 

7

 Shalowitz MU, Sadowski LM, Kumar R, Weiss KB, Shannon JJ. Asthma Burden in a Citywide, Diverse Sample of 

Elementary Schoolchildren in Chicago. Ambulatory Pediatrics. July-August 2007; 7(4):271-7. 8

 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview 

Survey Raw Data, 1997-2008. Analysis performed by American Lung Association Research and Program Services 

using SPSS and SUDAAN software. 

9

 Ibid. 

10 Ibid. 

11 Ibid. 

12 Ibid. 

13 Ibid. 

14 Ibid. 

15 Ibid. 

16 Ibid. 

17 Ibid. 

18 Ibid. 

19 Ibid. 

20 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. Behavioral Risk Factor 

Surveillance Survey, 2000-2008. Analysis preformed by the American Lung Association Research and Program 

Services Division. 

21 Ibid. 

22 Ibid. 

23 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. SLAITS. National Survey of 

Children’s Health, 2003. 

24 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Hospital Discharge 

Survey, 1979-2006. 2005 and 2006 unpublished data provided by special request to the NCHS. 

25 Ibid. 

26 Ibid. 

27 Ibid. 

28 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Ambulatory Medical 

Care Survey, 1992-2006. National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2006. 

29 National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Chartbook on Cardiovascular, Lung and Blood Diseases, U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Health, 2009. 30 American Lung Association Asthma Clinical Research Centers. The Safety of Inactivated Influenza Vaccine 

in Adults and Children with Asthma. New England Journal of Medicine. 2001; 345(21):1529-36. 31 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. Behavioral Risk Factor 

Surveillance Survey, 2008. Analysis preformed by the American Lung Association Research and Program Services 

Division. 

32 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics 

Reports. Deaths: Final Data for 1999-2006. April 17, 2009. Vol 57, No 14. 
 33 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Hospital Discharge 

Survey, 1995-2006. 2006 unpublished data provided by special request to the NCHS. 

34 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview 

Survey Raw Data, 2008. Analysis performed by American Lung Association Research and Program Services using 

SPSS and SUDAAN software. 

35 National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Chartbook on Cardiovascular, Lung and Blood Diseases, U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Health, 2009. 
Year

Both 

Sexes Male Female

Both 

Sexes Male Female

Both 

Sexes Male Female

Both 

Sexes Male Female

1979 (2) 2,598 1,133 1,465 2,095 898 1,197 503 235 268 470 214 256

1980 2,891 1,292 1,599 2,291 1,008 1,283 600 284 316 557 260 297

1981 3,054 1,287 1,767 2,426 977 1,449 628 310 318 576 281 295

1982 3,154 1,314 1,840 2,450 983 1,467 704 331 373 647 301 346

1983 3,561 1,455 2,106 2,751 1,084 1,667 810 371 439 732 336 396

1984 3,564 1,467 2,097 2,779 1,106 1,673 785 361 424 701 312 389

1985 3,880 1,551 2,329 3,026 1,140 1,886 854 411 443 778 371 407

1986 3,955 1,584 2,371 3,036 1,178 1,858 919 406 513 828 360 468

1987 4,360 1,730 2,630 3,327 1,244 2,083 1,033 486 547 920 428 492

1988 4,597 1,822 2,775 3,473 1,299 2,174 1,124 523 601 1,012 460 552

1989 4,869 1,848 3,021 3,761 1,352 2,409 1,108 496 612 984 434 550

1990 4,819 1,885 2,934 3,696 1,358 2,338 1,123 527 596 986 460 526

1991 5,106 1,927 3,179 3,915 1,388 2,527 1,191 539 652 1,043 472 571

1992 4,964 1,869 3,095 3,789 1,362 2,427 1,175 507 668 1,036 433 603

1993 5,167 1,928 3,239 3,910 1,384 2,526 1,257 544 713 1,112 465 647

1994 5,487 2,101 3,386 4,134 1,492 2,642 1,353 609 744 1,186 525 661

1995 5,637 2,079 3,558 4,208 1,454 2,754 1,429 625 804 1,247 538 709

1996 5,667 2,075 3,592 4,110 1,426 2,684 1,557 649 908 1,325 540 785

1997 5,434 1,986 3,448 4,002 1,383 2,619 1,432 603 829 1,200 498 702

1998 5,438 2,000 3,438 3,947 1,366 2,581 1,491 634 857 1,290 536 754

1999 (3) 4,657 1,620 3,037 3,328 1,046 2,282 1,329 574 755 1,145 481 664

2000 4,487 1,632 2,855 3,144 1,057 2,087 1,343 575 768 1,158 481 677

2001 4,269 1,479 2,790 2,990 937 2,053 1,279 542 737 1,108 459 649

2002 4,261 1,580 2,681 3,014 1,017 1,997 1,247 563 684 1,096 497 599

2003 4,099 1,493 2,606 2,888 961 1,927 1,211 532 679 1,030 445 585

2004 3,816 1,386 2,430 2,658 851 1,807 1,158 535 623 1,008 455 553

2005 3,884 1,315 2,569 2,714 843 1,871 1,170 472 698 1,016 411 306

2006 3,613 1,296 2,317 2,497 805 1,692 1,116 491 625 957 423 534

Notes:

(2) Deaths from 1979-1998 are coded by the 9th revision of International Classification of Diseases, code 493.

(3) Deaths from 1999-2006 are coded by the 10th revision of International Classification of Diseases, code J45-J46.

Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics Reports. 

Deaths: Final Data for 1979-2006.

--- Data not available.

(1) All races other than White.

Table 1: Asthma - Number of Deaths by Race and Sex, 1979-1998, 1999-2006

All Other (1)

Total White Total Black
Year

Both 

Sexes Male Female

Both 

Sexes Male Female

Both 

Sexes Male Female

Both 

Sexes Male Female

1979 (4) 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.9 1.9 2.0

1980 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 2.0 2.1 1.9 2.2 2.2 2.2

1981 1.0 1.0 1.1 0.9 0.8 0.9 2.1 2.2 1.9 2.3 2.4 2.1

1982 1.0 1.0 1.1 0.9 0.8 0.9 2.2 2.3 2.2 2.5 2.5 2.5

1983 1.2 1.1 1.3 0.9 0.9 1.0 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.8 2.8 2.8

1984 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.0 0.9 1.0 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.6 2.5 2.6

1985 1.2 1.1 1.3 1.0 0.9 1.2 2.5 2.6 2.3 2.8 3.0 2.7

1986 1.2 1.1 1.3 1.0 0.9 1.1 2.6 2.5 2.7 2.9 2.9 3.0

1987 1.3 1.2 1.4 1.1 1.0 1.2 2.9 2.9 2.8 3.2 3.3 3.2

1988 1.4 1.2 1.5 1.1 1.0 1.2 3.0 3.1 3.0 3.5 3.5 3.4

1989 1.4 1.2 1.6 1.2 1.0 1.3 2.8 2.8 2.9 3.3 3.2 3.3

1990 1.4 1.3 1.5 1.2 1.0 1.3 2.9 3.0 2.8 3.4 3.5 3.3

1991 1.5 1.3 1.6 1.2 1.0 1.4 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.5 3.5 3.5

1992 1.4 1.2 1.5 1.1 0.9 1.3 2.8 2.8 2.9 3.3 3.1 3.5

1993 1.4 1.3 1.6 1.2 1.0 1.3 2.9 2.8 3.0 3.5 3.3 3.7

1994 1.5 1.4 1.7 1.2 1.0 1.4 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.7 3.6 3.7

1995 1.5 1.3 1.7 1.3 1.0 1.5 3.2 3.1 3.3 3.8 3.6 3.9

1996 1.5 1.3 1.7 1.2 1.0 1.4 3.3 3.1 3.5 3.9 3.6 4.1

1997 1.4 1.2 1.6 1.1 1.0 1.3 3.0 2.9 3.1 3.5 3.2 3.6

1998 1.4 1.2 1.5 1.1 0.9 1.2 3.0 2.9 3.1 3.7 3.4 3.8

1999 (5) 1.7 1.4 2.0 1.4 1.0 1.7 3.4 3.3 3.5 3.9 3.6 4.2

2000 1.6 1.3 1.8 1.3 1.0 1.5 3.3 3.1 3.5 3.9 3.5 4.2

2001 1.5 1.2 1.7 1.2 0.9 1.5 3.0 2.8 3.2 3.6 3.2 3.8

2002 1.5 1.2 1.7 1.2 0.9 1.4 2.8 2.7 2.8 3.4 3.3 3.4

2003 1.4 1.0 1.8 1.2 0.8 1.6 2.2 2.0 2.4 2.7 2.4 2.9

2004 1.3 1.0 1.4 1.0 0.8 1.2 2.5 2.5 2.5 3.0 3.0 3.1

2005 1.3 1.0 1.5 1.0 0.7 1.3 2.5 2.2 2.7 3.0 2.7 3.3

2006 1.2 0.9 1.3 0.9 0.7 1.1 2.2 2.1 2.3 2.7 2.5 2.8

Notes:

Table 2: Asthma - Age-Adjusted Death Rate per 100,000 population, by Race and Sex, 1979-1998, 1999-2006 (1,2)

Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics Reports. 

Deaths: Final Data for 1979-2006.

(1) Rates for the years 1979-1998 are age-adjusted to the 1940 U.S. standard population.

All Other (3)

Total White Total Black

--- Data not available.

(2) Rates for 1999-2006 are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population.

(3) All races other than White.

(4) Deaths from 1979-1998 are coded by the 9th revision of International Classification of Diseases, code 493.

(5) Deaths from 1999-2006 are coded by the 10th revision of International Classification of Diseases, code J45-J46.
Year/Sex Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate

Both Sexes

1999 4,657 1.7 320 1.7 4,324 1.7 3,011 1.4 1,134 4.1

2000 4,487 1.6 292 1.5 4,164 1.6 2,836 1.3 1,145 4.1

2001 4,269 1.5 274 1.4 3,976 1.5 2,717 1.2 1,092 3.6

2002 4,261 1.5 287 1.3 3,950 1.5 2,720 1.2 1,083 3.5

2003 4,099 1.4 299 1.3 3,786 1.4 2,589 1.3 1,019 2.8

2004 3,816 1.3 281 1.1 3,524 1.3 2,377 1.0 1,001 3.1

2005 3,884 1.3 248 1.0 3,626 1.3 2,475 1.0 1,002 3.1

2006 3,613 1.2 257 1.0 3,343 1.2 2,246 0.9 943 2.8

Male

1999 1,620 1.4 119 1.2 1,495 1.4 930 1.0 474 3.7

2000 1,632 1.3 129 1.3 1,486 1.3 920 1.0 472 3.6

2001 1,479 1.2 103 1.0 1,365 1.2 834 0.9 450 3.3

2002 1,580 1.2 114 1.0 1,448 1.2 895 0.9 488 3.4

2003 1,493 1.1 131 1.1 1,356 1.2 831 0.9 439 2.5

2004 1,386 1.0 111 0.9 1,272 1.1 743 0.8 452 3.1

2005 1,315 1.0 106 0.9 1,205 1.0 743 0.7 403 2.7

2006 1,296 0.9 94 0.7 1,196 1.0 715 0.7 414 2.6

Female

1999 3,037 2.0 201 2.0 2,829 2.0 2,081 1.7 660 4.3

2000 2,855 1.8 163 1.6 2,678 1.9 1,916 1.5 673 4.3

2001 2,790 1.7 171 1.7 2,611 1.8 1,883 1.4 642 3.9

2002 2,681 1.7 173 1.5 2,502 1.7 1,825 1.4 595 3.5

2003 2,606 1.6 168 1.4 2,430 1.6 1,758 1.7 580 3.0

2004 2,430 1.4 170 1.4 2,252 1.5 1,634 1.2 549 3.1

2005 2,569 1.5 142 1.1 2,421 1.6 1,732 1.3 599 3.4

2006 2,317 1.3 163 1.2 2,147 1.4 1,531 1.1 529 2.9

Notes:

Table 3: Asthma - Number of Deaths and Age-Adjusted Death Rate per 100,000 population by Ethnic Origin and 

Sex, 1999-2006 (1,2)

(1) Number of deaths are coded by the 10th revision of International Classification of Diseases, code J45-J46.

(2) Rates are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population.

(3) Includes races other than White and Black.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics Reports. 

Deaths: Final Data for 1999-2006.

Total Hispanic Non-Hispanic Non-Hispanic Black (3) Non-Hispanic White
Year Total <1 1-4 5-14 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75-84 85+

1979 (1) 2,598 5 19 39 99 111 157 282 502 695 499 190

1980 2,891 8 21 61 105 130 145 309 529 765 596 222

1981 3,054 3 12 72 112 155 178 308 607 803 575 229

1982 3,154 8 26 70 162 169 176 341 582 793 593 234

1983 3,561 5 28 78 144 186 231 384 686 836 693 290

1984 3,564 10 17 79 132 159 227 355 674 905 702 303

1985 3,880 6 21 98 156 182 231 378 755 936 785 332

1986 3,955 13 17 92 166 197 251 356 688 982 843 350

1987 4,360 4 19 101 181 199 341 443 709 1,081 873 408

1988 4,597 7 19 93 162 231 343 440 785 1,097 991 429

1989 4,869 6 26 95 148 256 346 472 743 1,208 1,094 473

1990 4,819 12 24 102 160 237 332 502 738 1,125 1,074 512

1991 5,106 5 30 106 183 280 386 510 737 1,155 1,161 553

1992 4,964 9 38 88 168 232 373 495 692 1,164 1,097 608

1993 5,167 6 32 118 186 240 405 508 738 1,196 1,114 623

1994 5,487 5 24 118 215 304 421 597 780 1,223 1,155 644

1995 5,637 13 21 130 224 298 498 663 785 1,147 1,195 663

1996 5,667 8 34 149 214 288 496 649 816 1,095 1,177 739

1997 5,434 5 30 119 174 298 489 636 757 992 1,183 751

1998 5,438 7 33 131 214 277 487 647 673 972 1,190 807

1999 (2) 4,657 5 27 126 182 262 447 607 583 773 925 720

2000 4,487 8 32 129 167 249 458 614 540 734 849 707

2001 4,269 10 31 99 140 233 455 603 553 634 802 709

2002 4,261 4 43 123 169 235 472 608 536 583 812 675

2003 4,099 7 37 110 158 227 411 632 562 532 752 671

2004 3,816 7 29 105 159 197 376 562 520 504 673 684

2005 3,884 4 37 97 131 207 369 595 510 475 709 740

2006 3,613 6 26 99 135 194 373 566 492 443 626 653

Notes:

Table 4: Asthma - Number of Deaths in 10-Year Age Groups, 1979-1998, 1999-2006

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics 

Reports. Deaths: Final Data for 1979-2006.

(1) Deaths from 1979-1998 are coded by the 9th revision of International Classification of Diseases, 493.

(2) Deaths from 1999-2006 are coded by the 10th revision of International Classification of Diseases, J45-J46.
Year Total <1 1-4 5-14 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75-84 85+

 1979 (1) 1.2 --- --- 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.6 1.2 2.3 4.5 6.6 8.6

1980 1.3 --- 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.6 1.4 2.4 4.9 7.7 9.9

1981 1.3 --- --- 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.7 1.4 2.8 5.1 7.2 9.7

1982 1.4 --- 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.6 1.5 2.6 4.9 7.2 9.6

1983 1.5 --- 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.8 1.7 3.1 5.1 8.2 11.5

1984 1.5 --- --- 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.7 1.6 3.0 5.4 8.1 11.7

1985 1.6 --- 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.7 1.7 3.4 5.6 8.8 12.4

1986 1.6 --- --- 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.8 1.6 3.1 5.7 9.2 12.8

1987 1.8 --- --- 0.3 0.5 0.5 1.0 1.9 3.3 6.2 9.3 14.5

1988 1.9 --- --- 0.3 0.4 0.5 1.0 1.8 3.6 6.2 10.3 14.9

1989 2.0 --- 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.6 1.0 1.9 3.5 6.8 11.1 15.9

1990 1.9 --- 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.9 2.0 3.5 6.2 10.7 16.9

1991 2.0 --- 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.7 1.0 2.0 3.5 6.3 11.3 17.5

1992 1.9 --- 0.2 0.2 0.5 0.5 0.9 1.8 3.3 6.3 10.4 18.7

1993 2.0 --- 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.6 1.0 1.8 3.5 6.4 10.4 18.3

1994 2.1 --- 0.2 0.3 0.6 0.7 1.0 2.0 3.7 6.5 10.6 18.3

1995 2.1 --- 0.1 0.3 0.6 0.7 1.2 2.1 3.7 6.1 10.7 18.3

1996 2.1 --- 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.7 1.1 2.0 3.8 5.9 10.3 19.6

1997 2.0 --- 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.8 1.1 1.9 3.5 5.4 10.1 19.4

1998 2.0 --- 0.2 0.3 0.6 0.7 1.1 1.9 3.0 5.3 10.0 19.9

 1999 (2) 1.7 --- 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.7 1.0 1.7 2.5 4.2 7.6 17.2

2000 1.6 --- 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.7 1.0 1.7 2.3 4.0 6.9 16.5

2001 1.5 --- 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.6 1.0 1.5 2.2 3.5 6.4 16.1

2002 1.5 --- 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.6 1.1 1.5 2.0 3.2 6.4 14.7

2003 1.4 --- 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.9 1.5 2.0 2.9 5.8 14.2

2004 1.3 --- 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.9 1.4 1.8 2.7 5.2 14.1

2005 1.3 --- 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.8 1.4 1.7 2.5 5.4 14.5

2006 1.2 --- 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.9 1.3 1.6 2.3 4.8 12.3

Notes:

--- Figure does not meet standard of reliability or precision (Estimate based on fewer than 20 deaths).

Table 5: Asthma - Mortality Rate per 100,000 population, by 10-Year Age Groups 1979-1998, 1999-2006

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics Reports. 

Deaths: Final Data for 1979-2006.

(1) Deaths from 1979-1998 are coded by the 9th revision of International Classification of Diseases, 493.

(2) Deaths from 1999-2006 are coded by the 10th revision of International Classification of Diseases, J45-J46.
Number Rate CI of Rate (2) Number Rate CI of Rate (2) Number Rate CI of Rate (2) Number Rate CI of Rate (2)

Total 31,353,657 113.4 (109.7--117.1) 30,821,125 110.6 (106.7--114.4) 29,767,541 104.1 (100.7--107.5) 30,189,450 104.7 (100.8--108.6)

Age

<5 1,552,713 78.7 (68.6--88.7) 1,451,929 73.2 (62.8--83.6) 1,490,625 75.1 (64.9--85.3) 1,454,498 72.8 (63.1--82.5)

5-17 7,631,820 144.2 (135.0--153.5) 7,442,217 140.0 (131.4--148.7) 7,580,355 142.7 (134.0--151.5) 7,435,318 140.1 (131.3--148.9)

<18 9,184,533 126.4 (119.2--133.6) 8,894,146 121.9 (114.8--129.0) 9,070,980 124.3 (117.4--131.2) 8,889,816 121.7 (114.6--128.8)

18-44 12,795,275 118.0 (112.3--123.7) 12,453,741 115.2 (108.8--121.6) 11,204,219 101.4 (95.8--106.9) 10,959,122 99.3 (93.3--105.2)

45-64 6,507,867 104.1 (97.2--110.9) 6,836,046 105.7 (98.8--112.7) 6,721,660 98.5 (91.7--105.3) 6,972,948 99.4 (92.2--106.5)

65+ 2,865,982 87.2 (79.0--95.4) 2,637,162 79.8 (71.9--87.6) 2,770,682 80.9 (72.8--89.0) 3,367,564 97.4 (88.2--106.5)

>18 22,169,124 108.8 (104.6--112.9) 21,926,949 106.5 (102.1--111.0) 20,696,561 97.1 (93.5--100.8) 21,299,634 99.0 (94.8--103.2)

Sex

Male 14,556,517 107.9 (102.8--113.0) 14,340,497 105.4 (100.3--110.5) 13,503,561 96.7 (92.1--101.4) 14,319,905 101.6 (96.3--106.9)

Female 16,797,140 118.6 (113.8--123.5) 16,480,628 115.5 (110.3--120.6) 16,263,980 111.1 (106.3--115.9) 15,869,545 107.7 (102.6--112.8)

Race

White 24,771,837 112.1 (107.8--116.4) 23,921,769 107.3 (103.0--111.7) 23,876,627 101.0 (97.3--104.8) 24,045,954 101.5 (97.4--105.6)

<5 978,206 65.8 (54.2--77.3) 832,762 55.9 (45.2--66.6) 933,382 59.7 (50.0--69.3) 1,136,552 72.4 (55.4-76.6)

5-17 5,592,504 139.4 (129.0--149.9) 5,359,421 132.6 (123.1--142.1) 5,627,212 134.6 (124.9--144.3) 5,352,774 129.0 (122.2-140.6)

18-44 10,227,098 120.8 (114.0--127.6) 9,721,553 115.1 (107.8--122.5) 9,122,405 101.3 (94.9--107.6) 8,752,791 97.7 (90.8-104.6)

45-64 5,499,261 104.9 (97.3--112.6) 5,682,916 105.2 (97.8--112.6) 5,748,988 98.7 (91.3--106.1) 5,861,424 98.7 (90.9-106.5)

65+ 2,474,768 85.4 (76.8--94.0) 2,325,117 79.9 (71.6--88.3) 2,444,640 80.1 (71.3--88.9) 2,942,413 95.4 (85.8-105.0)

Black 4,453,467 128.6 (119.3--138.0) 4,850,540 138.3 (127.2--149.4) 4,712,858 129.6 (120.1--139.1) 4,948,075 133.4 (122.8--144.0)

<5 406,228 137.8 (104.8--170.9) 431,731 145.9 (112.5--179.4) 491,459 150.4 (113.2--187.6) 395,616 119.9 (89.7-150.7)

5-17 1,403,147 170.8 (146.0--195.5) 1,506,656 183.5 (159.0--208.0) 1,570,114 184.8 (161.8--207.8) 1,681,349 196.9 (172.0-221.8)

18-44 1,704,761 119.9 (104.4--135.3) 1,881,512 131.4 (112.8--149.9) 1,685,252 117.3 (102.3--132.3) 1,732,061 118.9 (102.2-135.6)

45-64 668,693 102.5 (85.8--119.2) 794,872 116.3 (94.6--138.0) 735,785 99.7 (81.1--118.4) 818,936 107.0 (87.4-126.6)

65+ 270,638 99.9 (77.0--122.8) 235,769 85.6 (58.9--112.4) 230,248 80.7 (55.7--105.7) 300,113 104.2 (77.3-131.1)

Number Rate CI of Rate (2) Number Rate CI of Rate (2) Number Rate CI of Rate (2) Number Rate CI of Rate (2)

Total 32,620,534 112.0 (108.3-115.7) 34,131,580 116.2 (111.6-120.8) 34,007,590 114.5 (110.0-119.1) 38,430,376 128.5 (124.0-133.0)

Age

<5 1,741,465 85.8 (74.7-96.9) 1,521,299 74.5 (63.4-85.7) 1,636,267 79.5 (66.2-92.8) 1,498,621 72.0 (58.9-85.2)

5-17 7,545,500 142.2 (133.6-150.8) 8,354,541 157.4 (146.2-168.6) 7,968,828 149.9 (138.9-161.0) 8,691,354 163.8 (152.4-175.2)

<18 9,286,965 126.6 (119.6-133.6) 9,875,840 134.4 (125.9-142.8) 9,605,095 130.3 (121.6-138.9) 10,189,975 138.0 (128.7-147.2)

18-44 12,322,282 111.6 (105.3-117.9) 12,668,079 114.8 (107.4-122.1) 12,995,928 117.2 (109.6-124.8) 14,891,564 134.6 (126.6-142.6)

45-64 7,555,487 104.5 (97.7-111.3) 7,806,115 105.2 (96.9-113.5) 7,895,449 103.7 (95.7-111.7) 9,265,710 119.7 (110.8-128.6)

65+ 3,455,800 98.6 (89.9-107.3) 3,781,546 106.0 (95.8-116.2) 3,511,118 97.1 (85.6-108.6) 4,083,127 109.8 (99.8-119.8)

>18 23,333,569 107.1 (102.8-111.4) 24,255,740 110.1 (105.0-115.2) 24,402,495 109.3 (104.4-114.3) 28,240,401 125.4 (120.0-130.8)

Sex

Male 14,628,489 102.7 (97.6-107.8) 15,952,818 110.9 (104.7-117.2) 15,932,657 109.6 (103.4-115.7) 17,867,295 122.0 (115.3-128.6)

Female 17,992,044 121.0 (116.4-125.6) 18,178,762 121.2 (114.6-127.9) 18,074,933 119.3 (113.0-125.7) 20,563,061 134.8 (128.9-140.6)

Race

White 25,986,225 108.7 (104.7-112.7) 27,036,551 113.7 (108.5-118.9) 26,798,402 112.1 (107.0-117.2) 30,025,619 124.7 (119.7-129.7)

<5 1,107,802 69.7 (59.5-80.1) 1,125,619 71.4 (58.9-83.9) 954,773 61.2 (47.9-74.5) 984,128 61.6 (46.6-76.7)

5-17 5,569,421 134.0 (124.3-143.7) 6,227,995 151.1 (137.8-164.3) 5,518,513 134.7 (122.7-146.6) 6,017,946 147.7 (135.7-159.6)

18-44 9,857,252 110.1 (103.1-117.1) 9,993,077 114.1 (105.3-122.8) 10,577,772 120.5 (111.7-129.3) 11,892,854 136.1 (126.8-145.3)

45-64 6,454,928 105.5 (98.2-112.8) 6,446,946 103.8 (94.6-113.1) 6,652,131 105.4 (96.2-114.5) 7,655,811 118.9 (109.1-128.7)

65+ 2,996,822 96.8 (87.3-106.3) 3,242,914 104.4 (93.3-115.5) 3,095,213 98.0 (85.3-110.7) 3,474,880 107.5 (96.7-118.3)

Black 5,110,214 137.4 (127.2-147.6) 5,342,756 136.6 (125.1-148.1) 5,248,110 133.8 (121.6-146.1) 6,353,327 160.9 (148.2-173.7)

<5 528,218 158.6 (121.2-196.0) 351,576 102.2 (70.6-133.9) 544,230 156.5 (114.6-198.4) 384,767 110.2 (80.0-140.4)

5-17 1,554,894 182.7 (161.1-204.3) 1,707,643 192.7 (166.9-218.4) 1,855,699 210.6 (185.7-235.4) 2,192,429 252.3 (220.8-283.9

18-44 1,794,574 123.8 (107.6-140.0) 1,939,503 126.0 (109.1-143.0) 1,681,732 110.6 (92.4-128.7) 2,228,770 145.8 (125.8-165.8)

45-64 880,522 111.6 (92.4-130.8) 938,301 114.3 (93.2-135.3) 848,297 98.7 (80.5-117.0) 1,154,966 131.3 (107.1-155.4)

65+ 352,006 118.7 (91.9-145.5) 405,733 126.1 (99.3-152.9) 318,152 101.8 (74.6-129.0) 392,395 122.3 (93.8-150.9) 

Notes:

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 1999-2008. Analysis by the 

American Lung Assocation Research and Program Services Division using SPSS and SUDAAN software.

(1) Lifetime prevalence is defined as answering yes to "Have you EVER been told by a doctor or other health professional that you had asthma?"

(2) 95% Confidence Interval.

2005 2006 2007 2008

Table 6: Asthma - Number of People Ever Told by a Health Professional that they had Asthma and Prevalence Rate per 1,000 population, by 

Age, Sex and Race, 1999-2008 (Lifetime Prevalence) (1)

2001 2002 2003 2004
Year Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number 

1982 7,899,000 34.8 * * * * 2,513,000 40.1 2,749,000 29.0 1,603,000 1983 8,787,000 38.3 * * * * 2,828,000 45.2 3,487,000 36.1 1,529,000 1984 8,388,000 36.2 * * * * 2,658,000 42.5 3,152,000 32.1 1,485,000 1985 8,612,000 36.8 * * * * 2,997,000 47.8 3,323,000 33.4 1,255,000 1986 9,690,000 41.0 * * * * 3,223,000 51.1 3,672,000 36.4 1,622,000 1987 9,565,000 40.1 * * * * 3,323,000 52.5 3,522,000 34.5 1,633,000 1988 9,934,000 41.2 * * * * 3,171,000 49.9 3,989,000 38.7 1,587,000 1989 11,621,000 47.7 * * * * 3,901,000 61.0 4,302,000 41.3 1,914,000 1990 10,311,000 41.9 * * * * 3,725,000 57.6 3,703,000 35.2 1,800,000 1991 11,735,000 47.2 * * * * 4,094,000 62.5 4,594,000 43.4 1,921,000 1992 12,375,000 49.2 * * * * 4,218,000 63.4 4,748,000 44.9 2,183,000 1993 13,074,000 51.4 * * * * 4,830,000 71.6 4,495,000 42.5 2,242,000 1994 14,562,000 56.1 * * * * 4,837,000 69.1 5,598,000 51.7 2,561,000 1995 14,878,000 56.8 * * * * 5,294,000 74.9 5,577,000 51.6 2,754,000 1996 14,596,000 55.2 * * * * 4,429,000 62.0 6,141,000 56.9 2,581,000 2001 20,280,603 73.4 1,127,711 57.1 5,192,266 98.1 6,319,977 87.0 7,796,024 71.9 4,207,483 2002 20,025,716 71.8 1,180,664 59.5 4,882,214 91.9 6,062,878 83.1 7,437,526 68.8 4,591,985 2003 19,836,001 69.4 1,177,472 59.3 5,035,963 94.8 6,213,435 85.1 6,972,303 63.1 4,678,034 2004 20,544,836 71.3 1,119,656 56.0 5,067,050 95.5 6,186,706 84.7 7,058,327 63.9 4,871,010 2005 22,227,378 76.3 1,371,199 67.5 5,159,596 97.2 6,530,795 89.0 7,745,701 70.1 5,280,703 2006 22,875,985 77.9 1,177,912 57.7 5,641,460 106.3 6,819,372 92.8 7,990,497 72.4 5,575,548 2007 22,879,141 77.1 1,395,164 67.8 5,307,438 99.9 6,702,602 90.9 7,996,454 72.1 5,475,500 2008 23,317,502 78.0 1,276,343 61.4 5,676,458 107.0 6,952,801 94.1 7,944,927 71.8 5,765,100 Notes:* Data for these age groups were not calculated.(1) Due to rounding, numbers across may not sum up to totals.Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 1999-2008. Analysis bAssocation Research and Program Services Division using SPSS and SUDAAN software.(2) With the revision of the National Health Interview Survey in 1997, the question "During the past 12 months, did anyone in the family have asthma?" was etwo questions: "Have you ever been told by a doctor or other health professional that you had asthma?" (Table 6) and "During the past 12 months, have you asthma attack?" (Table 10). Realizing the information gap resulting with the revised questions, "Do you still have asthma?" was added in 2001- reinstating a However, data between 1982 and 1996 should not be compared to 2001-2008 estimates.

Table 7: Asthma - Number of Conditions and Prevalence Rate per 1,000 population by Age, 1982-1996, 2001-2008 (Current Prevale

All Ages Under 5 5-17 <18 18-44 45-64 
Year Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate 

1982 3,994,000 36.5 * * * * 3,906,000 33.2 * * 1983 3,818,000 34.5 * * * * 4,968,000 41.9 * * 1984 3,924,000 35.1 * * * * 4,464,000 37.3 * * 1985 3,864,000 34.2 * * * * 4,748,000 39.3 * * 1986 4,670,000 40.8 * * * * 5,019,000 41.1 * * 1987 4,609,000 39.9 * * * * 4,956,000 40.3 * * 1988 4,650,000 39.9 * * * * 5,285,000 42.5 * * 1989 5,593,000 47.4 * * * * 6,028,000 48.0 * * 1990 4,741,000 39.7 * * * * 5,570,000 44.0 * * 1991 5,724,000 47.4 * * * * 6,011,000 47.0 * * 1992 5,516,000 45.1 * * * * 6,859,000 53.1 * * 1993 5,946,000 48.1 * * * * 7,127,000 54.6 * * 1994 6,542,000 51.7 * * * * 8,019,000 60.2 * * 1995 6,687,000 52.4 * * * * 8,190,000 61.0 * * 1996 5,751,000 44.4 * * * * 8,845,000 65.3 * * 2001 8,579,722 63.6 3,679,050 99.0 4,900,672 50.1 11,700,881 82.6 2,640,927 74.4 2002 8,461,150 62.6 3,520,764 94.4 4,940,386 50.0 11,564,566 81.0 2,542,114 71.3 2003 8,212,724 58.8 3,548,147 95.1 4,664,577 45.6 11,623,277 79.4 2,665,288 74.7 2004 8,937,331 63.4 3,789,642 101.5 5,147,689 49.7 11,607,505 78.8 2,397,064 67.1 2005 9,092,310 63.8 3,744,508 99.8 5,347,802 51.0 13,135,068 88.3 2,786,287 77.7 2006 10,026,373 69.7 4,122,206 109.7 5,904,167 55.6 12,849,612 85.7 2,697,166 75.1 2007 9,484,900 65.2 3,659,782 97.4 5,825,118 54.1 13,394,241 88.4 3,042,820 84.7 2008 10,410,894 71.1 4,293,261 114.3 6,117,633 56.3 12,906,608 84.6 2,659,540 74.0 Notes: 

Table 8: Asthma - Number of Conditions and Prevalence Rate per 1,000 population by Sex, 1982-1996, 2001-2008 (Current Preva

Male Female

All Ages Under 18 18 and Over All Ages Under 18 

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 1999-2008. Analysis Assocation Research and Program Services Division using SPSS and SUDAAN software.(1) With the revision of the National Health Interview Survey in 1997, the question "During the past 12 months, did anyone in the family have asthma?" was with two questions: "Have you ever been told by a doctor or other health professional that you had asthma?" (Table 6) and "During the past 12 months, have asthma or asthma attack?" (Table 10). Realizing the information gap resulting with the revised questions, "Do you still have asthma?" was added in 2001- recurrent prevalence. However, data between 1982 and 1996 should not be compared to 2001-2008 estimates.
Year Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate

1982 6,711,000 34.6 * * * * * * 1,423,000 36.5 895,000 39.0

1983 7,412,000 37.7 * * * * * * 1,367,000 35.0 848,000 36.2

1984 7,296,000 36.9 * * * * * * 1,295,000 33.1 1,019,000 42.6

1985 7,425,000 37.2 * * * * * * 1,121,000 28.7 932,000 38.1

1986 8,190,000 40.9 * * * * * * 1,451,000 37.2 981,000 39.6

1987 8,126,000 40.3 * * * * * * 1,463,000 37.4 987,000 38.8

1988 8,101,000 39.9 * * * * * * 1,327,000 33.5 1,046,000 40.5

1989 9,675,000 47.1 * * * * * * 1,743,000 43.6 1,313,000 49.9

1990 8,544,000 41.3 * * * * * * 1,585,000 39.3 926,000 34.6

1991 9,660,000 46.4 * * * * * * 1,689,000 41.6 1,013,000 37.2

1992 10,309,000 49.2 * * * * * * 1,900,000 45.5 1,068,000 38.8

1993 10,616,000 50.2 * * * * * * 1,904,000 44.5 1,374,000 49.2

1994 12,052,000 56.2 * * * * * * 2,258,000 52.3 1,441,000 51.9

1995 12,198,000 56.2 * * * * * * 2,323,000 52.5 1,041,000 37.0

1996 11,764,000 53.5 * * * * * * 2,168,000 47.4 1,295,000 45.3

2001 15,897,376 71.9 689,084 46.3 3,836,665 95.6 6,209,214 73.3 3,491,749 66.6 1,670,664 57.7

2002 15,475,067 69.4 681,148 45.7 3,515,172 87.0 5,806,930 68.8 3,753,208 69.5 1,718,609 59.1

2003 15,764,764 66.7 712,084 45.5 3,582,880 85.7 5,637,921 62.6 4,085,667 70.1 1,746,212 57.2

2004 16,390,255 69.2 782,879 49.9 3,709,265 89.4 5,604,879 62.6 4,120,743 69.4 2,172,489 70.5

2005 17,594,734 73.6 822,609 51.8 3,477,676 91.1 6,112,174 68.2 4,557,893 74.5 2,314,382 74.8

2006 18,102,518 76.1 842,705 53.5 4,170,650 101.2 6,411,485 73.2 4,564,948 73.5 2,112,730 68.0

2007 17,818,348 74.5 801,099 51.3 3,608,489 88.1 6,417,722 73.1 4,616,492 73.1 2,374,546 75.2

2008 17,922,870 74.4 805,346 50.4 3,838,544 94.2 6,335,706 72.5 4,629,422 71.9 2,313,852 71.6

Year Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate

1982 1,055,000 39.2 * * * * * * 156,000 37.2* 103,000 48.7*

1983 1,230,000 45.1 * * * * * * 150,000 35.5* 95,000 44.5*

1984 965,000 34.8 * * * * * * 153,000 35.9* 62,000 28.4*

1985 1,119,000 39.8 * * * * * * 122,000 27.5 84,000 37.2*

1986 1,212,000 42.5 * * * * * * 164,000 36.5 146,000 63.5*

1987 1,281,000 44.3 * * * * * * 148,000 32.5 100,000 42.5*

1988 1,631,000 55.5 * * * * * * 225,000 48.5 105,000 43.7*

1989 1,586,000 53.1 * * * * * * 112,000 23.8* 170,000 69.3

1990 1,414,000 46.6 * * * * * * 180,000 37.6 127,000 50.7*

1991 1,740,000 56.3 * * * * * * 195,000 40.1 83,000 32.4*

1992 1,787,000 56.8 * * * * * * 249,000 49.9 145,000 55.3*

1993 1,967,000 61.4 * * * * * * 315,000 61.3 98,000 36.7*

1994 1,861,000 56.3 * * * * * * 255,000 49.7 111,000 44.0*

1995 2,217,000 67.7 * * * * * * 313,000 60.0 178,000 70.1*

1996 2,310,000 69.6 * * * * * * 275,000 50.7* 109,000 41.7*

2001 3,053,514 88.2 323,209 109.7 960,289 116.9 1,089,907 76.6 488,195 74.8 191,914 70.9

2002 3,355,658 95.7 373,140 126.1 1,030,164 125.5 1,201,855 83.9 586,386 85.8 164,113 59.6

2003 3,369,723 92.7 408,342 125.0 1,180,065 138.9 122,577 78.2 503,141 68.2 155,598 54.5

2004 3,478,451 94.2 292,406 88.6 1,222,293 143.2 1,205,919 82.8 547,399 71.5 210,434 73.0

2005 3,721,281 100.1 469,857 141.1 1,099,549 129.2 1,291,843 89.1 587,452 74.5 272,580 91.9

2006 3,685,130 94.2 308,660 89.7 1,261,526 142.3 1,208,699 78.6 624,522 76.0 281,723 87.6

2007 4,045,683 103.2 496,932 142.9 1,403,745 159.3 1,205,631 79.3 689,291 80.2 250,084 80.0

2008 4,157,754 105.3 348,345 99.8 1,542,877 177.6 1,149,238 75.2 841,223 95.6 276,071 86.1

Notes:

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 1999-2008. Analysis by 

the American Lung Assocation Research and Program Services Division using SPSS and SUDAAN software.

* Estimate for which the numerator has a relative standard error of more than 30%.

(1) With the revision of the National Health Interview Survey in 1997, the question "During the past 12 months, did anyone in the family have asthma?" was 

eliminated and was replaced with two questions: "Have you ever been told by a doctor or other health professional that you had asthma?" (Table 6) and 

"During the past 12 months, have you had an episode of asthma or asthma attack?" (Table 10). Realizing the information gap resulting with the revised 

questions, "Do you still have asthma?" was added in 2001- reinstating a measure of current prevalence. However, data between 1982 and 1996 should not 

be compared to 2001-2008 estimates.

Black

All Ages Under 5 5-17 18-44 45-64 65+

Table 9: Asthma - Number of Conditions and Prevalence Rate per 1,000 population by Race and Age, 1982-1996, 2001-2008 (Current

Prevalence) (1)

White

All Ages Under 5 5-17 18-44 45-64 65+
Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate 

Total 10,488,284 38.6 10,979,222 40.1 11,986,059 43.4 11,908,191 42.7 11,045,888 38.6 11,684,355 40.5 12,233,688 42.0 12,443,111 42.4 

Age

<5 825,304 42.1 853,688 43.5 925,924 46.9 957,613 48.3 838,226 42.2 781,424 39.1 893,310 44.0 923,306 45.2 5-17 2,973,538 56.7 3,144,009 59.6 3,230,542 61.1 3,239,335 61.0 3,136,594 59.1 3,193,643 60.2 2,922,723 55.1 3,147,874 59.3 

<18 3,798,842 52.7 3,997,697 55.3 4,156,466 57.2 4,196,948 57.5 3,974,820 54.5 3,975,067 54.4 3,816,033 52.0 4,071,180 55.4 

18-44 4,021,816 37.1 3,865,362 35.6 4,621,288 42.6 4,353,083 40.3 3,775,135 34.2 3,877,444 35.1 4,538,617 41.1 4,133,895 37.4 

45-64 1,950,980 33.3 2,187,430 36.1 2,347,541 37.5 2,387,972 36.9 2,528,134 37.0 2,743,583 39.1 2,814,887 38.9 3,225,412 43.5 

65+ 716,646 22.1 928,733 28.4 860,764 26.2 970,188 35.7 767,799 22.4 1,088,261 31.5 1,064,151 30.4 1,012,624 28.4 >18 6,689,442 33.5 6,981,525 34.6 7,829,593 38.4 7,711,243 37.5 7,071,068 33.2 7,709,288 35.8 8,417,655 38.7 8,371,931 38.0 

Sex

Male 4,310,426 32.5 4,566,516 34.2 4,894,372 36.3 4,862,958 35.7 4,433,896 31.8 5,164,431 36.7 4,833,535 33.9 4,958,737 34.5 

Female 6,177,858 44.4 6,412,706 45.7 7,091,687 50.1 7,045,233 49.4 6,611,992 45.2 6,519,924 44.3 7,400,153 49.8 7,484,374 49.9 

Race

White 8,225,725 37.4 8,574,362 39.2 9,316,903 42.2 9,135,316 41.0 8,700,764 36.8 9,282,163 39.2 9,829,145 41.1 9,894,621 41.6 

<5 542,560 36.5 556,163 38.3 585,966 39.4 563,698 37.8 510,295 32.6 557,772 35.5 540,648 34.0 682,037 43.3 5-17 2,144,632 53.1 2,221,117 55.7 2,388,686 59.5 2,340,836 57.9 2,254,002 53.9 23,414,442 56.4 2,245,862 54.0 2,307,950 56.0 

18-44 3,265,910 37.8 3,232,200 38.0 3,678,584 43.5 3,454,845 40.9 3,034,374 33.7 3,112,209 34.8 3,647,258 40.7 3,340,080 38.1 

45-64 1,669,630 33.7 1,790,264 35.3 1,946,520 37.1 1,928,267 35.7 2,210,594 37.9 2,323,470 39.1 2,498,698 40.9 2,727,915 43.9 

65+ 602,993 21.0 774,618 26.8 717,147 24.8 847,670 29.1 691,499 22.7 947,270 30.7 896,679 29.0 836,639 26.9 

Black 1,535,360 45.5 1,631,233 47.6 1,928,640 55.7 1,974,247 56.3 1,905,572 52.4 2,031,045 55.0 1,821,757 49.0 1,921,835 49.1 

<5 218,657 76.0 193,908 66.2 240,243 81.5 282,694 95.6 284,424 87.1 215,308 65.3 286,893 86.1 217,268 63.2 5-17 592,920 72.6 663,850 80.4 633,474 77.1 664,074 80.9 683,115 80.4 736,672 86.3 534,281 62.8 697,787 78.7 18-44 495,630 35.3 401,595 28.4 670,130 47.1 608,292 42.5 624,012 43.4 613,177 42.1 627,619 43.3 615,762 40.0 45-64 151,304 25.2 278,686 44.4 271,703 41.6 320,550 46.9 269,789 36.6 340,064 44.4 262,489 33.3 292,257 35.6 65+ 76,849 29.0 93,194 34.7 113,090 41.8 98,637 35.8 44,232 15.5 125,824 43.7 110,475 37.3 98,761 30.7 

Note: 

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2006

Table 10: Number of People Who Had an Asthma Attack or Episode and Prevalence Rate per 1,000 population by Age, Sex and Race, 1999-2008 (Attack Prev

2005 

(1) Attack prevalence is defined as answering yes to " Have you EVER been told by a doctor or other health professional that you had asthma?" and "During the PAST 12 MONTHS, have yoasthma or asthma attack?"Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 1999-2008. Analysis by the American Lung AssocatProgram Services Division using SPSS and SUDAAN software.
Number Rate CI of Rate (2) Number Rate CI of Rate (2) Number Rate CI of Rate (2) Number Rate CI of Rate (2)

1998 2,627,891 84.7 (76.4-93.0) 18,887,569 97.2 (93.0-101.4) 4,105,291 124.9 (116.1-133.7) 773,286 71.8 (58.3-85.2)

1999 2,564,233 80.2 (71.6-88.8) 17,833,735 91.1 (87.1-95.1) 3,424,782 102.8 (93.0-112.7) 878,864 82.7 (65.5-99.9)

2000 2,700,985 81.7 (74.4-89.1) 19,958,214 102.2 (98.0-106.4) 3,900,457 115.8 (107.0-124.6) 1,055,350 87.9 (69.8-106)

2001 3,232,703 94.7 (86.8-102.5) 22,607,687 115.3 (110.7-120.0) 4,291,178 126.2 (116.7-135.6) 1,222,089 99.1 (81.9-116.3)

2002 2,925,277 83.0 (75.5-90.5) 21,850,318 111.2 (106.4-116.0) 4,736,386 137.7 (126.5-149.0) 1,309,144 103.5 (85.6-121.4)

2003 3,478,767 87.5 (79.6-95.5) 20,663,795 104.0 (99.9-108.1) 4,563,212 129.3 (119.5-139.1) 1,061,767 86.1 (68.6-103.7)

2004 3,436,124 84.3 (77.0-91.6) 20,982,719 105.7 (101.2-110.2) 4,734,121 132.9 (122.1-143.7) 1,036,486 77.2 (61.3-93.1)

2005 3,876,926 91.9 (84.4-99.4) 22,426,806 112.5 (108.1-116.9) 4,904,487 136.1 (125.8-146.4) 1,412,314 103.9 (86.4-121.4)

2006 4,245,710 97.6 (86.8-108.5) 23,183,063 117.4 (111.5-123.2) 5,063,688 135.7 (124.0-147.3) 1,639,119 106.2 (90.3-122.1)

2007 4,624,043 102.3 (93.3-111.3) 22,616,361 114.7 (108.9-120.5) 5,010,098 132.6 (119.9-145.3) 1,757,088 105.3 (89.0-121.5)

2008 4,676,998 100.8 (91.5-110.2) 25,764,148 130.2 (124.4-136.0) 6,133,131 160.6 (147.7-173.5) 1,856,099 111.8 (94.1-129.5)

2001 2,007,520 58.8 (55.3-62.3) 14,603,075 74.5 (72.3-76.7) 2,933,767 86.2 (80.8-91.7) 736,241 59.7 (51.5-68.0)

2002 1,726,590 49.0 (45.5-52.5) 14,245,694 72.5 (70.3-74.7) 3,271,962 95.1 (90.9-99.4) 781,470 61.8 (52.7-70.9)

2003 2,198,710 55.3 (51.4-59.3) 13,750,543 69.2 (66.9-71.5) 3,269,269 92.6 (87.6-97.7) 617,479 50.1 (41.7-58.5)

2004 2,123,900 52.1 (48.2-56.0) 14,475,412 72.9 (70.8-75.1) 3,355,168 94.2 (88.9-99.4) 590,356 44.0 (36.5-51.4)

2005 2,622,402 62.2 (58.7-65.6) 15,206,366 76.3 (74.1-78.5) 3,578,998 99.3 (94.1-104.5) 819,612 60.3 (50.2-70.4)

2006 2,774,937 63.8 (59.0-68.6) 15,588,033 78.9 (76.1-81.7) 3,490,816 93.5 (87.8-99.2) 1,022,199 66.2 (56.8-75.7)

2007 3,086,458 68.3 (63.6-72.9) 15,023,012 76.2 (73.5-78.9) 3,868,248 102.4 (97.6-107.1) 901,423 54.0 (45.6-62.4)

2008 2,696,473 58.1 (52.8-63.4) 15,471,719 78.2 (75.1-81.2) 4,029,342 105.5 (99.4-111.6) 1,119,968 67.4 (57.9-76.9)

1998 1,117,182 36.0 (32.3-39.7) 7,570,852 39.0 (37.0-41.0) 1,648,035 50.1 (45.1-55.1) 276,987 25.7 (19.0-32.4)

1999 1,089,428 34.1 (30.2-37.9) 7,500,035 38.3 (36.3-40.3) 1,526,119 45.8 (41.2-50.4) 372,702 35.1 (25.9-44.2)

2000 1,087,330 32.9 (29.7-36.1) 7,864,152 40.3 (36.8-42.5) 1,601,492 47.6 (42.6-52.5) 426,248 35.5 (27.5-43.5)

2001 1,164,204 34.1 (30.2-38.0) 8,581,795 43.8 (41.5-46.0) 1,847,680 54.3 (48.7-59.9) 392,380 31.8 (24.0-39.6)

2002 1,087,489 30.8 (27.3-34.4) 8,401,593 42.8 (40.4-45.1) 1,895,262 55.1 (50.2-60.0) 523,847 41.4 (33.1-49.8)

2003 1,317,684 33.2 (29.6-36.7) 7,494,952 37.7 (35.6-39.9) 1,823,502 51.7 (46.6-56.7) 409,750 33.2 (25.1-41.4)

2004 1,242,176 30.5 (27.2-33.8) 8,162,307 41.1 (38.7-43.6) 1,948,083 54.7 (49.7-59.7) 331,788 24.7 (18.0-31.4)

2005 1,556,114 36.9 (33.1-40.7) 8,435,306 42.3 (59.6-69.6) 1,715,563 47.6 (42.3-52.9) 526,705 38.7 (29.9-47.6)

2006 1,606,472 36.9 (32.2-41.7) 8,442,077 42.7 (39.9-45.6) 1,801,492 48.3 (42.4-54.2) 593,070 38.4 (29.3-47.5)

2007 1,847,798 40.9 (36.3-45.4) 7,985,031 40.5 (37.3-43.7) 1,949,084 51.6 (45.4-57.7) 526,836 31.6 (23.7-39.4)

2008 1,563,994 33.7 (28.6-38.8) 8,336,575 42.1 (39.0-45.3) 2,230,905 58.4 (52.1-64.7) 594,723 35.8 (26.9-44.8)

Notes:

(5) Attack prevalence was defined as answering yes to " Have you EVER been told by a health professional that you had asthma?" and "During the PAST 12 

MONTHS, have you had an episode of asthma or asthma attack?"

(4) With the revision of the National Health Interview Survey in 1997, the question "During the past 12 months, did anyone in the family have asthma?" was 

eliminated and was replaced with two questions: "Have you ever been told by a doctor or other health professional that you had asthma?" (Table 6) and "During the 

past 12 months, have you had an episode of asthma or asthma attack?" (Table 10). Realizing the information gap resulting with the revised questions, "Do you still 

have asthma?" was added in 2001- reinstating a measure of current prevalence. Data prior to 1997 should not be compared to data after 1997.

Non-Hispanic Black Non-Hispanic Others (1) Non-Hispanic White

Attack Prevalence (5)

Lifetime Prevalence (3)

Current Prevalence (4)

Table 11: Asthma - Number of Conditions and Prevalence Rate per 1,000 population by Ethnic Origin, 1998-2008

(3) Lifetime prevalence was defined as answering "yes" to "Have you EVER been told by a health professional that you had asthma?"

(2) Does not include non-Hispanic Whites and Blacks.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 1998-2008. Analysis 

by the American Lung Assocation Research and Program Services Division using SPSS and SUDAAN software.

(2) 95% Confidence Interval.

Hispanic
State Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %

Alabama 323,695 9.7 369,224 11.0 391,671 11.6 476,083 14.0 388,422 11.2 470,053 13.6 458,143 13.1 435,900 12.3

Alaska 51,029 11.5 51,547 11.6 60,933 13.3 59,546 13.0 59,417 12.5 68,280 14.4 65,838 13.7 80,001 16.1

Arizona 474,929 12.4 551,442 13.9 511,360 12.5 513,810 12.4 531,780 12.2 640,112 14.7 636,534 14.0 703,901 14.9

Arkansas 212,687 10.6 243,901 12.1 231,481 11.3 246,838 12.0 239,803 11.4 247,852 11.8 250,015 11.7 274,924 12.8

California 3,044,855 12.1 3,209,230 12.7 3,473,157 13.4 3,681,050 14.0 3,488,798 13.2 3,400,733 12.7 3,512,686 12.9 3,828,105 13.8

Colorado 394,610 12.1 404,461 12.1 424,685 12.4 462,911 13.5 463,459 13.3 423,762 12.1 457,501 12.9 476,750 13.0

Connecticut 321,831 12.3 341,552 13.2 319,497 12.2 402,123 15.3 331,736 12.4 371,538 13.8 379,818 14.1 360,941 13.4

DC 54,330 12.0 65,214 14.2 58,117 12.7 69,533 15.3 66,966 15.3 68,310 15.5 70,384 11.7 90,061 13.6

Delaware 71,450 11.9 71,567 11.8 72,281 11.7 91,569 14.4 81,603 12.6 94,573 14.5 77,623 15.2 75,563 16.2

Florida 1,242,381 9.9 1,348,584 10.5 1,327,772 10.1 1,634,184 12.3 1,605,472 11.7 1,606,690 11.6 1,516,150 10.7 1,482,482 10.2

Georgia 674,099 11.0 728,052 11.7 757,493 11.8 797,776 12.3 771,633 11.5 876,730 13.1 832,340 12.0 904,220 12.7

Hawaii 111,954 12.1 125,142 13.4 110,997 11.6 N/A 12.3 137,523 14.1 154,939 15.9 136,675 13.9 160,671 16.1

Idaho 108,286 11.7 113,045 11.8 114,347 11.7 131,431 13.1 123,425 11.7 137,293 13.1 143,209 13.2 137,638 12.7

Illinois 1,049,350 11.3 992,316 10.7 1,046,454 11.1 1,235,253 13.1 1,009,367 10.6 1,238,486 13.0 1,221,897 12.7 1,281,794 13.2

Indiana 515,076 11.3 514,621 11.3 552,962 12.0 615,746 13.3 592,979 12.7 596,402 12.7 627,860 13.3 646,585 13.7

Iowa 212,254 9.7 197,950 9.0 227,881 10.3 237,427 10.5 266,282 11.6 219,429 9.6 234,488 10.2 246,625 10.7

Kansas 232,248 11.6 222,271 11.2 232,690 11.5 244,306 12.0 223,603 10.8 251,105 12.2 252,736 12.1 274,017 13.2

Kentucky 333,057 10.9 393,275 12.8 391,927 12.6 444,475 13.9 424,702 13.3 375,058 11.7 407,060 12.6 477,284 14.7

Louisiana 293,612 9.1 340,082 10.4 336,420 10.2 389,856 11.8 364,606 10.8 363,337 10.8 325,451 10.0 386,009 11.7

Maine 121,535 12.6 134,683 13.6 134,498 13.4 150,850 14.7 156,625 15.0 147,710 14.1 159,793 15.2 164,628 15.7

Maryland 445,760 11.1 510,826 12.7 507,830 12.3 575,936 13.9 549,863 13.1 56,082 13.4 549,850 12.9 614,939 14.3

Massachusetts 639,174 13.0 629,268 12.9 710,328 14.4 743,248 14.9 701,580 14.2 720,570 14.5 759,457 15.4 738,079 14.8

Michigan 914,468 12.4 949,081 12.8 1,019,132 13.6 1,010,998 13.4 1,055,925 13.9 1,072,020 14.1 1,132,013 14.8 1,181,157 15.4

Minnesota 368,504 10.1 416,551 11.3 395,216 10.5 441,325 11.6 460,580 11.8 434,049 11.1 429,115 10.9 490,354 12.4

Mississippi 188,785 9.2 222,829 10.6 230,890 10.9 251,450 11.8 241,152 11.1 250,916 11.5 242,065 11.0 243,155 11.2

Missouri 502,586 11.9 526,495 12.5 508,330 11.9 579,825 13.4 627,935 14.2 558,313 12.6 590,670 13.2 608,359 13.6

Montana 78,547 11.8 97,766 14.5 76,242 11.1 90,922 13.0 92,065 12.6 89,826 12.4 97,102 13.1 107,378 14.6

Nebraska 106,309 8.4 134,251 10.6 132,872 10.3 137,485 10.6 143,333 10.8 147,497 11.2 151,883 11.4 138,106 10.4

Nevada 204,462 13.3 201,143 12.4 189,390 11.4 213,040 12.6 225,997 12.6 222,609 12.3 251,505 13.4 265,973 13.6

New Hampshire 117,309 12.5 132,599 13.9 125,421 12.9 148,349 15.0 147,998 14.7 150,852 14.9 153,914 15.0 157,863 15.3

New Jersey 610,724 9.4 757,385 11.8 710,625 10.9 887,629 13.6 767,067 11.7 798,272 12.1 851,242 12.9 852,177 12.8

New Mexico 141,099 10.7 155,098 11.7 142,570 10.5 202,131 14.7 208,641 14.5 200,317 13.9 204,292 13.9 185,452 12.6

New York 1,603,109 11.0 1,645,388 11.5 1,697,945 11.7 2,072,314 14.2 2,029,807 13.8 1,923,308 13.1 2,067,410 14.0 2,077,823 14.1

North Carolina 624,605 10.1 678,962 10.9 720,819 11.3 843,869 13.2 660,762 10.1 719,909 10.9 809,224 12.1 803,050 11.7

North Dakota 42,783 9.1 49,026 10.3 48,224 10.1 53,717 11.0 55,518 11.1 50,792 10.3 56,129 11.2 56,933 11.6

Ohio 832,186 9.8 872,153 10.3 931,899 10.8 1,054,109 12.3 983,657 11.3 1,182,149 13.6 1,142,773 13.1 1,236,970 14.2

Oklahoma 259,907 10.1 289,843 11.2 309,038 11.8 353,966 13.4 358,375 13.3 374,947 14.0 365,423 13.5 375,566 13.9

Oregon 335,009 12.9 369,041 14.0 395,124 14.7 442,292 16.3 427,040 15.3 425,338 15.3 448,345 15.8 434,186 14.9

Pennsylvania 1,007,466 10.7 1,079,272 11.5 1,129,529 11.9 1,245,840 13.1 1,182,384 12.3 1,180,673 12.2 1,255,615 13.0 1,282,433 13.3

Rhode Island 98,047 12.1 104,562 12.8 118,314 14.4 122,950 14.6 127,118 15.3 136,033 16.0 123,166 14.7 127,454 15.4

South Carolina 322,915 10.7 305,845 10.0 316,653 10.1 375,526 11.8 361,523 11.2 401,184 12.4 396,566 12.0 458,211 13.7

South Dakota 42,124 7.7 47,763 8.6 60,240 10.7 58,867 10.3 61,705 10.5 65,478 11.2 58,177 9.8 65,432 11.1

Tennessee 406,008 9.3 531,158 12.2 523,609 11.8 655,730 14.7 530,403 11.6 536,372 11.7 577,917 12.4 587,796 12.6

Texas 1,466,052 9.6 1,806,359 11.6 1,791,427 11.3 2,077,901 12.9 1,851,772 11.2 2,071,722 12.4 2,200,103 12.9 2,120,744 12.2

Utah 157,803 10.7 191,128 12.3 180,462 11.3 216,508 13.1 224,514 13.0 235,698 13.8 233,690 13.2 239,488 13.1

Vermont 55,490 12.1 59,539 12.7 57,969 12.2 72,274 15.0 73,074 14.9 67,889 13.8 70,810 14.3 75,669 15.4

Virginia 616,160 11.4 660,055 12.1 676,348 12.1 748,668 13.3 815,491 14.2 759,603 13.2 804,446 13.7 836,765 14.1

Washington 530,013 11.9 641,694 14.3 634,069 13.8 718,004 15.5 701,296 14.6 687,128 14.3 719,032 14.7 743,189 14.9

West Virginia 173,501 12.5 179,052 12.8 166,795 11.8 219,922 15.5 205,113 14.3 170,622 11.9 175,833 12.2 196,107 13.7

Wisconsin 434,848 10.9 473,049 11.7 451,051 11.0 516,521 12.4 555,467 13.1 529,183 12.5 566,309 13.2 605,906 14.2

Wyoming 41,239 11.6 40,858 11.1 42,219 11.2 48,222 12.7 49,767 12.6 52,525 13.3 49,833 12.5 55,557 14.0

United States 23,210,259 11.0 25,176,198 11.8 25,777,202 11.9 29,064,305 13.3 28,090,493 12.6 28,534,268 13.0 29,758,055 13.1 30,901,203 13.3

Note:

N/A: Not Available

(1) Lifetime prevalence was defined as answering yes to "Have you ever been told by a doctor, nurse or other health professional that you had asthma?"

Source: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, 2001-2008

Table 12: Asthma - Estimated Lifetime Prevalence (%) in Adults, by State, 2001-2008

2001 2002 2004 2005 2003 2006 2007 2008
State Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %

Alabama 211,835 6.3 240,795 7.2 253,590 7.5 293,302 8.6 246,232 7.1 305,741 8.9 306,327 8.8 274,722 7.8

Alaska 32,179 7.2 32,851 7.4 41,766 9.1 41,028 9.0 37,076 7.8 44,835 9.5 37,290 7.8 47,032 9.6

Arizona 316,659 8.2 356,712 9.0 341,357 8.3 297,681 7.2 322,555 7.4 385,692 8.9 391,673 8.7 461,326 9.8

Arkansas 139,615 6.9 152,569 7.6 148,628 7.3 150,688 7.4 157,765 7.5 159,328 7.6 147,985 7.0 177,067 8.3

California 1,751,211 7.0 1,633,769 6.4 2,171,227 8.4 2,011,241 7.7 1,902,981 7.2 2,031,457 7.6 2,047,732 7.5 2,326,451 8.4

Colorado 259,324 8.0 255,409 7.7 281,149 8.3 297,140 8.7 285,741 8.2 274,835 7.9 275,248 7.8 294,938 8.1

Connecticut 204,445 7.8 220,216 8.5 216,680 8.3 253,416 9.7 214,023 8.0 247,824 9.3 249,490 9.3 235,398 8.8

Delaware 45,025 7.5 46,112 7.6 46,213 7.5 62,935 10.0 55,050 8.5 62,522 9.6 43,161 7.8 63,483 9.6

District of Columbia 33,283 7.4 41,246 9.1 35,548 7.8 41,568 9.2 40,267 9.2 43,721 10.0 51,921 9.4 44,405 9.6

Florida 722,627 5.7 833,013 6.5 801,089 6.1 961,017 7.3 933,095 6.8 993,890 7.2 870,423 6.2 954,707 6.6

Georgia 442,374 7.2 459,342 7.4 449,626 7.0 480,174 7.4 489,819 7.3 531,047 8.0 524,105 7.6 603,748 8.5

Hawaii 67,148 7.3 63,672 6.9 54,170 5.6 N/A N/A 73,151 7.5 77,928 8.1 78,472 8.0 95,665 9.6

Idaho 73,682 7.9 73,458 7.7 76,716 7.9 79,281 8.0 77,009 7.3 95,258 9.2 94,123 8.7 95,785 8.9

Illinois 729,934 7.8 664,163 7.2 692,016 7.4 796,395 8.4 666,563 7.0 790,144 8.3 792,632 8.3 759,775 7.9

Indiana 343,028 7.5 341,274 7.5 370,367 8.1 386,834 8.4 382,868 8.2 390,702 8.4 411,625 8.8 432,805 9.2

Iowa 147,200 6.7 141,516 6.4 138,355 6.2 149,594 6.6 165,278 7.2 147,692 6.5 160,200 7.0 178,374 7.7

Kansas 161,251 8.1 150,713 7.6 151,163 7.5 150,327 7.4 142,858 6.9 170,368 8.3 174,725 8.4 180,033 8.7

Kentucky 253,887 8.3 291,944 9.5 304,498 9.8 262,930 8.3 281,006 8.8 261,590 8.2 289,874 9.0 312,561 9.7

Louisiana 170,990 5.3 195,574 6.0 205,465 6.2 203,677 6.2 199,183 5.9 199,144 5.9 203,641 6.3 264,428 8.0

Maine 90,243 9.4 99,008 10.0 98,475 9.9 98,627 9.6 106,505 10.2 100,915 9.7 107,576 10.3 107,556 10.3

Maryland 282,677 7.0 331,315 8.2 320,823 7.8 322,297 7.8 348,386 8.3 372,862 8.9 350,892 8.3 404,518 9.4

Massachusetts 462,332 9.4 433,978 8.9 488,412 9.9 479,099 9.7 474,308 9.6 487,835 9.9 484,178 9.9 477,599 9.6

Michigan 665,636 9.0 646,354 8.8 693,663 9.3 620,085 8.3 691,289 9.1 723,120 9.6 719,418 9.5 750,954 9.9

Minnesota 238,842 6.5 275,320 7.5 254,593 6.8 283,896 7.5 327,871 8.4 304,195 7.8 305,592 7.7 307,490 7.8

Mississippi 113,916 5.5 127,915 6.1 145,707 6.9 150,640 7.1 156,423 7.2 150,914 6.9 144,009 6.6 151,990 7.0

Missouri 343,826 8.2 356,257 8.5 339,842 8.0 392,871 9.1 397,987 9.0 380,384 8.6 380,658 8.5 377,375 8.4

Montana 53,044 8.0 59,721 8.9 54,624 7.9 60,162 8.6 57,723 7.9 59,786 8.3 68,341 9.3 70,590 9.6

Nebraska 72,885 5.8 91,754 7.2 91,434 7.1 89,957 6.9 88,920 6.7 98,618 7.5 107,180 8.1 94,457 7.1

Nevada 126,692 8.2 121,819 7.6 108,545 6.6 120,476 7.1 127,348 7.1 138,399 7.7 129,045 6.9 156,829 8.6

New Hampshire 79,093 8.4 82,902 8.7 82,578 8.5 101,106 10.3 103,699 10.3 97,524 9.7 104,353 10.2 106,788 10.4

New Jersey 402,339 6.2 496,395 7.8 460,222 7.1 563,149 8.6 491,709 7.5 502,676 7.6 549,463 8.3 572,877 8.6

New Mexico 90,543 6.9 104,145 7.8 91,757 6.7 127,614 9.3 128,062 8.9 121,382 8.5 127,055 8.7 124,847 8.5

New York 1,059,051 7.3 1,130,548 7.9 1,106,254 7.6 1,292,115 8.9 1,367,913 9.3 1,240,431 8.5 1,287,371 8.7 1,293,638 8.8

North Carolina 397,774 6.4 402,207 6.5 451,015 7.1 481,011 7.5 425,243 6.5 444,380 6.8 524,000 7.8 519,735 7.6

North Dakota 32,143 6.8 34,874 7.3 33,510 7.0 37,378 7.7 36,512 7.3 34,767 7.1 38,334 7.7 38,885 7.9

Ohio 615,294 7.2 621,936 7.3 608,796 7.1 726,742 8.5 696,394 8.0 842,229 9.8 773,188 8.9 831,787 9.6

Oklahoma 178,660 6.9 182,254 7.1 198,626 7.6 217,629 8.3 229,037 8.5 236,351 8.9 232,877 8.6 241,011 8.9

Oregon 209,380 8.1 229,049 8.7 249,204 9.3 260,500 9.7 281,902 10.1 272,413 9.8 274,990 9.7 249,787 8.6

Pennsylvania 691,529 7.3 741,664 7.9 785,143 8.3 837,444 8.8 778,643 8.1 845,882 8.8 900,883 9.3 892,650 9.3

Rhode Island 75,642 9.3 72,311 8.9 78,694 9.6 81,218 9.6 88,899 10.7 89,235 10.5 82,206 9.9 87,265 10.6

South Carolina 195,558 6.5 178,930 5.8 191,055 6.1 242,164 7.6 213,040 6.6 246,732 7.7 246,859 7.5 276,366 8.3

South Dakota 28,954 5.3 32,804 5.9 41,290 7.3 37,769 6.7 42,899 7.3 44,952 7.7 41,679 7.1 42,409 7.2

Tennessee 297,976 6.8 356,379 8.2 350,559 7.9 400,139 9.0 352,078 7.7 386,334 8.5 401,989 8.7 419,409 9.0

Texas 932,057 6.1 1,104,526 7.1 1,093,265 6.9 1,147,991 7.1 1,124,290 6.8 1,209,906 7.3 1,396,996 8.2 1,271,563 7.3

Utah 103,383 7.0 124,327 8.0 117,491 7.4 131,414 8.0 138,162 8.0 143,141 8.4 143,469 8.1 153,175 8.4

Vermont 40,448 8.8 40,343 8.6 39,683 8.4 40,767 8.5 48,062 9.8 45,383 9.3 47,053 9.6 48,390 9.9

Virginia 348,225 6.4 392,023 7.2 422,958 7.6 412,370 7.3 499,632 8.7 484,637 8.4 466,343 8.0 544,652 9.3

Washington 337,123 7.6 396,172 8.9 412,896 9.1 423,408 9.2 441,912 9.2 424,579 8.9 452,707 9.3 461,670 9.3

West Virginia 128,863 9.3 126,906 9.1 114,053 8.1 143,407 10.1 131,961 9.2 122,851 8.6 129,573 9.0 137,715 9.6

Wisconsin 310,235 7.8 345,132 8.5 307,347 7.5 353,340 8.6 390,099 9.2 371,803 8.8 394,596 9.2 400,500 9.4

Wyoming 29,251 8.2 26,880 7.3 28,018 7.5 28,918 7.7 30,808 7.8 34,104 8.7 32,152 8.1 36,454 9.2

United States 15,139,313 7.1 15,960,496 7.5 16,640,152 7.7 17,624,929 8.1 17,835,234 8.0 18,272,438 8.5 18,778,074 8.4 19,617,958 8.5

Note:

N/A: Not Available

Table 13: Asthma - Estimated Current Prevalence (%) in Adults, by State, 2001-2008

2007

(1) Current prevalence was defined as answering yes to "Have you ever been told by a doctor, nurse or other health professional that you had asthma?" and "Do you still have asthma?"

Source: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, 2001-2008

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2008
Metropolitan / Micropolitan Area (1)

Akron, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.7 8.0

Albuquerque, NM Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.5 9.3

Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area 10.7 8.1

Anchorage, AK Metropolitan Statistical Area 18.2 11.1

Asheville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.4 10.1

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.1 8.7

Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area 10.9 7.3

Augusta-Waterville, ME Micropolitan Statistical Area 15.4 10.6

Austin-Round Rock, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 11.8 5.7

Baltimore-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.4 9.7

Bangor, ME Metropolitan Statistical Area 19.5 13.1

Barnstable Town, MA Metropolitan Statistical Area 12.9 9.1

Barre, VT Micropolitan Statistical Area 15.1 8.1

Baton Rouge, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area 12.7 8.7

Berlin, NH-VT Micropolitan Statistical Area 14.9 9.1

Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, MD Metropolitan Division 12.7 7.1

Billings, MT Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.2 8.5

Birmingham-Hoover, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area 11.6 8.0

Bismarck, ND Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.0 9.5

Boise City-Nampa, ID Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.1 9.8

Boston-Quincy, MA Metropolitan Division 14.9 9.8

Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area 11.0 8.1

Bozeman, MT Micropolitan Statistical Area 14.0 9.7

Bremerton-Silverdale, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area 18.3 11.7

Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area 12.0 8.0

Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Tonawanda, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.6 9.2

Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.3 9.3

Butte-Silver Bow, MT Micropolitan Statistical Area 16.2 11.0

Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA Metropolitan Division 15.6 9.7

Camden, NJ Metropolitan Division 15.0 11.4

Canton-Massillon, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area 12.1 8.3

Casper, WY Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.9 11.0

Charleston, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area 12.9 8.8

Charleston-North Charleston, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.2 6.6

Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area 11.6 7.4

Cheyenne, WY Metropolitan Statistical Area 12.7 8.2

Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.7 7.6

Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.2 9.0

Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.4 10.4

Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area 12.9 8.1

Columbia, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area 11.4 7.3

Columbus, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area 17.0 11.4

Concord, NH Micropolitan Statistical Area 13.7 8.8

Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 13.0 8.1

Dayton, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area 16.6 12.1

Denver-Aurora, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.5 7.8

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area 10.7 8.0

Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Division 17.5 11.4

Durham, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.9 8.4

Dover, DE Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.7 9.5

Edison, NJ Metropolitan Division 11.8 7.7

El Paso, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 10.9 7.0

Fairbanks, AK Metropolitan Statistical Area 16.7 9.3

Fargo, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.0 3.6

Fayetteville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.5 8.6

Table 14: Asthma - Estimated Lifetime and Current Prevalence (%) in Adults for Selected Areas, 2008

Lifetime 

Prevalence (2)

Current 

Prevalence (3)

(Continued on next page)
Metropolitan / Micropolitan Area (1)

Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO Metropolitan Statistical Area 12.3 6.8

Fort Collins-Loveland, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area 12.9 7.7

Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Division 15.2 9.7

Gillette, WY Micropolitan Statistical Area 12.8 8.5

Grand Island, NE Micropolitan Statistical Area 10.5 7.0

Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area 12.0 7.4

Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area 11.8 8.3

Greensboro-High Point, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area 9.9 5.0

Greenville, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area 16.8 9.6

Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.2 10.3

Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.6 10.4

Hastings, NE Micropolitan Statistical Area 12.8 9.7

Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area 12.6 8.8

Hilo, HI Micropolitan Statistical Area 19.9 12.0

Hilton Head Island-Beaufort, SC Micropolitan Statistical Area 11.3 7.1

Honolulu, HI Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.4 9.2

Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 11.3 6.1

Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area 16.9 12.0

Indianapolis-Carmel, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.6 11.1

Jackson, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area 10.5 6.2

Jacksonville, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area 16.1 10.4

Kahului-Wailuku, HI Micropolitan Statistical Area 16.2 10.1

Kansas City, MO-KS Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.3 9.1

Kapaa, HI Micropolitan Statistical Area 17.4 9.3

Kennewick-Richland-Pasco, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area 11.2 7.3

Las Cruces, NM Metropolitan Statistical Area 9.5 6.4

Las Vegas-Paradise, NV Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.2 8.6

Lebanon, NH-VT Micropolitan Statistical Area 13.6 9.6

Lewiston, ID-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.8 11.6

Lincoln, NE Metropolitan Statistical Area 10.3 7.3

Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR Metropolitan Statistical Area 12.1 7.9

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 12.4 7.8

Louisville, KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.2 9.1

Lubbock, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.4 10.5

Manchester-Nashua, NH Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.9 10.2

Memphis, TN-MS-AR Metropolitan Statistical Area 9.9 6.9

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.5 4.7

Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.1 10.3

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.5 8.4

Mobile, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area 10.6 11.1

Montgomery, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area 11.3 6.3

Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.7 7.7

Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area 12.1 9.0

Nassau-Suffolk, NY Metropolitan Division 11.5 6.8

New Haven-Milford, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area 12.0 7.0

New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area 12.0 7.6

New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 12.7 7.3

Newark-Union, NJ-PA Metropolitan Division 12.8 8.4

Norfolk, NE Micropolitan Statistical Area 8.9 7.1

North Platte, NE Micropolitan Statistical Area 11.7 9.4

Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA 14.7 8.9

Ocean City, NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.9 10.4

Ogden-Clearfield, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.1 7.4

Oklahoma City, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.1 8.5

(Continued on next page)

Lifetime 

Prevalence (2)

Current 

Prevalence (3)

Table 14 cont'd: Asthma - Estimated Lifetime and Current Prevalence (%) in Adults for Selected Areas, 2008
Metropolitan / Micropolitan Area (1)

Olympia, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area 17.9 11.0

Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA Metropolitan Statistical Area 9.9 6.9

Orangeburg, SC Micropolitan Statistical Area 15.5 9.1

Orlando-Kissimmee, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area 9.;8 6.6

Peabody, MA 13.3 8.9

Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division 13.9 9.0

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.2 10.2

Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.4 8.9

Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, ME Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.9 9.3

Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.0 8.2

Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.1 10.2

Provo-Orem, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area 11.1 7.5

Raleigh-Cary, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area 6.6 4.4

Rapid City, SD Metropolitan Statistical Area 10.1 7.0

Reno-Sparks, NV Metropolitan Statistical Area 11.7 7.4

Richmond, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area 10.2 7.,2

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 10.2 7.,3

Riverton, WY Micropolitan Statistical Area 14.6 9.8

Rochester, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area 18.0 13.2

Rock Springs, WY Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.8 9.3

Rockingham County-Strafford County, NH Metropolitan Division 15.4 10.3

Rutland, VT Micropolitan Statistical Area 14.4 11.3

Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 16.9 10.4

Salt Lake City, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.8 9.1

San Antonio, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 12.8 6.9

San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 12.3 8.1

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.8 9.0

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.2 10.1

Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA Metropolitain Division 12.0 6.4

Santa Fe, NM Metropolitan Statistical Area 9.2 4.2

Scottsbluff, NE Micropolitan Statistical Area 8.5 6.7

Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.2 8.8

Seaford, DE Micropolitan Statistical Area 12.8 8.7

Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 15.2 8.9

Shreveport-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 9.9 7.7

Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ Micropolitan Statistical Area 13.0 9.0

Sioux City, IA-NE-SD Metropolitan Statistical Area 9.3 6.2

Sioux Falls, SD Metropolitan Statistical Area 11.0 6.8

Spokane, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.7 9.0

Springfield, MA Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.5 9.7

St. Louis, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area 11.0 7.3

Tacoma, WA Metropolitan Division 16.1 10.6

Tallahassee, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.2 7.1

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.1 8.0

Toledo, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.6 9.4

Topeka, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.8 11.2

Tucson, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area 16.0 10.0

Tulsa, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.9 9.1

Tuscaloosa, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area 9.2 5.1

Tyler, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.7 9.9

Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.2 10.5

Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division 15.2 9.8

(Continued on next page)

Lifetime 

Prevalence (2)

Current 

Prevalence (3)

Table 14 cont'd: Asthma - Estimated Lifetime and Current Prevalence (%) in Adults for Selected Areas, 2008
Metropolitan / Micropolitan Area (1)

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 14.4 9.2

Wenatchee, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area 11.1 7.7

Wichita Falls, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.6 8.7

Wichita, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area 12.8 8.7

Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division 14.4 10.4

Wilmington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.4 6.4

Winston-Salem, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.8 9.6

Worcester, MA Metropolitan Statistical Area 15.4 9.2

Yakima, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area 14.7 8.6

Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area 13.2 10.5

Yuma, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area 11.6 9.3

Notes:

Table 14 cont'd: Asthma - Estimated Lifetime and Current Prevalence (%) in Adults for Selected Areas, 2008

Lifetime 

Prevalence (2)

Current 

Prevalence (3)

(1) A metropolitan area is a group of counties with at least one urbanized area of 50,000 more inhabitants, a micropolitan area is a group of counties 

with at least one urban cluster of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000 inhabitants and a metropolitan division is a smaller group of counties within a 

metropolitan statistical area of 2.5 million or more inhabitants.

(2) Lifetime prevalence was defined as answering yes to "Have you ever been told by a doctor, nurse or other health professional that you had 

asthma?"

(3) Current prevalence was defined as answering yes to "Have you ever been told by a doctor, nurse or other health professional that you had 

asthma?" and "Do you still have asthma?"

Source: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2008
State

Alabama 191,301 17.1 137,091 12.3

Alaska 19,016 10.4 11,681 6.4

Arizona 192,240 11.6 140,975 8.5

Arkansas 104,456 15.0 71,221 10.2

California 1,359,862 14.5 747,853 8.0

Colorado 138,524 11.7 93,769 7.9

Connecticut 136,922 16.9 95,648 11.8

Delaware 21,024 18.5 16,291 14.4

District of Columbia 31,749 15.8 22,826 11.4

Florida 587,648 14.6 332,007 8.3

Georgia 366,411 14.5 251,754 10.0

Hawaii 53,412 19.1 31,337 11.2

Idaho 34,978 8.5 21,839 5.3

Illinois 383,770 12.0 266,317 8.4

Indiana 200,498 12.6 137,924 8.7

Iowa 74,850 10.5 61,027 8.6

Kansas 86,832 12.4 63,728 9.1

Kentucky 181,151 17.9 119,604 11.9

Louisiana 161,860 15.0 97,069 9.0

Maine 37,675 13.3 25,505 9.0

Maryland 197,809 14.5 130,086 9.6

Massachusetts 235,701 16.5 153,637 10.8

Michigan 349,645 14.3 230,102 9.5

Minnesota 109,778 8.7 74,746 6.0

Mississippi 110,522 14.6 80,022 10.6

Missouri 206,671 14.7 152,450 10.8

Montana 23,421 10.3 15,043 6.6

Nebraska 46,071 10.1 30,036 6.6

Nevada 82,220 12.4 58,195 8.8

New Hampshire 37,173 12.5 25,977 8.8

New Jersey 246,470 12.0 172,094 8.4

New Mexico 56,555 11.5 38,115 7.7

New York 696,431 15.8 489,847 11.1

North Carolina 307,467 14.0 201,537 9.2

North Dakota 15,045 10.5 9,782 6.9

Ohio 445,671 16.3 336,884 12.3

Oklahoma 158,317 17.5 105,573 11.7

Oregon 108,056 12.6 63,484 7.4

Pennsylvania 416,681 14.9 296,421 10.6

Rhode Island 37,501 15.9 26,255 11.2

South Carolina 125,229 11.8 90,005 8.5

South Dakota 15,255 7.9 9,963 5.2

Tennessee 187,651 12.9 137,242 9.5

Texas 719,846 11.0 452,569 6.9

Utah 88,358 10.9 56,716 7.0

Vermont 17,795 13.6 12,507 9.6

Virginia 265,843 14.6 186,832 10.3

Washington 160,928 10.5 106,438 6.9

West Virginia 57,831 14.8 42,120 10.8

Wisconsin 150,585 11.5 106,212 8.1

Wyoming 13,034 10.3 8,646 6.9

United States 10,053,739 13.6 6,645,002 9.0

Notes:

Table 15: Asthma - Estimated Lifetime and Current Prevalence (%) in Children, by State, 2007 (1)

%

Current (3)

Number

Lifetime (2)

Source: National Center for Health Statistics. State and Local Integrated Telephone Survey: National Survey of 

Children's Health, 2007

(1) Represents the most updated information available through SLAITS.

(3) Current prevalence was defined as answering yes to "Has a doctor or health professional every told you that the sample 

child had asthma?" and "Does the child still have asthma?"

Number %

(2) Lifetime prevalence was defined as answering yes to "Has a doctor or health professional every told you that the sample 

child had asthma?"
Year Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate

1979 339,000 15.7 143,000 13.1 196,000 17.0

1980 408,000 18.0 180,000 16.3 228,000 19.6

1981 418,000 18.4 180,000 16.2 237,000 20.1

1982 434,000 18.9 190,000 17.1 245,000 20.6

1983 459,000 19.8 190,000 17.0 269,000 22.4

1984 465,000 19.8 197,000 17.1 268,000 22.0

1985 462,000 19.5 195,000 17.0 266,000 21.8

1986 477,000 19.9 206,000 17.8 271,000 21.9

1987 454,000 18.8 193,000 16.5 261,000 20.9

1988 479,000 19.6 210,000 17.7 270,000 21.4

1989 (2) 475,000 19.3 204,000 17.1 271,000 21.3

1990 476,000 19.1 191,000 15.8 285,000 22.2

1991 490,000 19.6 221,000 18.2 269,000 20.9

1992 463,000 18.3 201,000 16.3 263,000 20.1

1993 468,000 18.3 191,000 15.3 278,000 21.1

1994 451,000 17.4 189,000 15.0 262,000 19.7

1995 511,000 19.5 210,000 16.5 301,000 22.4

1996 474,000 17.9 195,000 15.1 279,000 20.6

1997 484,000 17.9 204,000 15.4 279,000 20.2

1998 423,000 15.5 168,000 12.6 255,000 18.3

1999 478,000 17.4 190,000 14.1 288,000 20.4

2000 465,000 16.7 198,000 14.5 267,000 18.8

2001 454,000 16.0 186,000 13.4 268,000 18.5

2002 484,000 16.9 196,000 13.9 288,000 19.7

2003 574,000 19.8 232,000 16.3 342,000 23.2

2004 497,000 17.0 207,000 14.5 290,000 19.4

2005 489,000 16.6 192,000 13.3 296,000 19.7

2006 444,000 14.9 177,000 12.1 266,000 17.6

Notes:

(1) Due to rounding, numbers across may not add to the total number of hospital discharges.

(2) Data from 1988-2006 may not be comparable to earlier years due to a redesign of the survey.

Table 16: Asthma - Number of First-Listed Hospital Discharges and Rate per 10,000 population by Sex, 

1979-2006 (1)

Total Male Female

Source: National Center for Health Statistics. National Hospital Discharge Survey, 1979-2006.
Year Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate

1979 99,000 19.8 94,000 9.5 83,000 19.1 63,000 27.0 339,000 15.7

1980 124,000 24.2 99,000 9.5 101,000 22.7 84,000 32.7 408,000 18.0

1981 128,000 25.0 112,000 10.6 104,000 23.4 74,000 28.2 418,000 18.4

1982 151,000 29.3 104,000 9.7 98,000 22.1 81,000 30.4 434,000 18.9

1983 136,000 26.4 110,000 10.1 119,000 26.7 94,000 34.2 459,000 19.8

1984 150,000 29.0 109,000 9.9 102,000 22.8 105,000 37.4 466,000 19.8

1985 144,000 27.8 124,000 11.1 97,000 21.5 97,000 34.1 462,000 19.5

1986 158,000 30.3 122,000 10.8 99,000 22.0 98,000 33.7 477,000 19.9

1987 149,000 28.4 112,000 9.8 92,000 20.4 101,000 33.8 454,000 18.8

1988 164,000 31.0 110,000 9.6 93,000 20.3 112,000 36.8 479,000 19.6

1989 (2) 168,000 31.2 127,000 11.0 88,000 19.0 93,000 29.9 475,000 19.3

1990 169,000 30.8 119,000 10.3 86,000 18.2 102,000 32.4 476,000 19.1

1991 187,000 33.9 128,000 10.9 85,000 18.2 90,000 28.5 490,000 19.6

1992 193,000 34.4 117,000 10.0 78,000 16.1 76,000 23.6 463,000 18.3

1993 159,000 28.0 128,000 10.9 94,000 19.0 87,000 26.6 468,000 18.3

1994 169,000 29.5 125,000 10.6 80,000 15.7 76,000 22.9 451,000 17.4

1995 212,000 36.7 135,000 11.4 87,000 16.7 77000 23.0 511,000 19.5

1996 195,000 33.8 132,000 11.1 88,000 16.4 59,000 17.4 474,000 17.9

1997 214,000 35.8 117,000 9.6 88,000 15.9 65,000 19.2 484,000 17.9

1998 166,000 27.7 104,000 8.6 92,000 16.2 60,000 17.7 423,000 15.5

1999 190,000 31.5 122,000 10.0 94,000 15.9 73,000 21.3 478,000 17.4

2000 203,000 33.6 111,000 9.1 84,000 13.7 68,000 19.6 465,000 16.7

2001 182,000 30.1 104,000 8.4 92,000 14.3 76,000 21.4 454,000 16.0

2002 187,000 30.8 109,000 8.8 109,000 16.4 80,000 22.5 484,000 16.9

2003 213,000 35.0 127,000 10.2 125,000 18.3 109,000 30.5 574,000 19.8

2004 190,000 31.0 91,000 7.3 112,000 15.9 104,000 28.7 497,000 17.0

2005 159,302 26.2 97,810 7.8 119,444 16.4 112,038 30.5 488,594 16.6

2006 145,000 23.9 89,000 7.1 121,000 16.2 88,000 23.7 444,000 14.9

Notes:

Source: National Center for Health Statistics. National Hospital Discharge Survey, 1979-2006.

(1) Due to rounding, numbers across may not add to the total number of hospital discharges.

(2) Data from 1988-2006 may not be comparable to earlier years due to a redesign of the survey.

Table 17: Asthma - Number of First-Listed Hospital Discharges and Rate per 10,000 population by Age, 

1979-2006 (1)

<15 15-44 45-64 65+ Total
Year Total (2) White Black All Other

Not 

Reported (3) Total White Black All Other

1988 479,000 295,000 116,000 31,000 37,000 19.6 14.4 39.4 36.1

1989 475,000 286,000 117,000 22,000 50,000 19.3 13.9 39.2 24.2

1990 476,000 263,000 116,000 19,000 78,000 19.1 12.7 38.3 19.8

1991 490,000 269,000 120,000 23,000 78,000 19.6 12.8 38.9 22.9

1992 463,000 215,000 134,000 25,000 89,000 18.3 10.2 42.8 23.8

1993 468,000 246,000 103,000 22,000 97,000 18.3 11.5 32.3 20.1

1994 451,000 227,000 125,000 29,000 70,000 17.4 10.5 38.6 26.0

1995 511,000 256,000 140,000 25,000 90,000 19.5 11.6 42.7 21.4

1996 474,000 237,000 133,000 33,000 70,000 17.9 10.8 40.1 27.6

1997 484,000 262,000 125,000 39,000 58,000 17.9 11.8 35.5 30.7

1998 423,000 222,000 115,000 28,000 58,000 15.5 10.0 32.2 21.0

1999 478,000 236,000 128,000 42,000 72,000 17.4 10.4 35.5 31.2

2000 465,000 234,000 117,000 18,000 79,000 16.7 10.3 32.9 10.3

2001 454,000 231,000 114,000 22,000 86,000 16.0 10.1 31.7 12.2

2002 484,000 244,000 131,000 19,000 90,000 16.9 10.5 36.0 9.9

2003 574,000 284,000 145,000 32,000 113,000 19.8 12.2 39.3 16.7

2004 497,000 236,000 126,000 35,000 100,000 17.0 10.0 33.9 17.3

2005 488,594 262,905 101,581 24,227 99,881 16.6 11.1 27.0 11.8

2006 444,000 228,000 112,000 14,000 89,000 14.9 9.6 29.3 6.7

Notes:

Table 18: Asthma - Number of First-Listed Hospital Discharges and Rate per 10,000 population by Race, 1988-

2006

(1) Rates may differ from previously published rates due to adjustments made to population used.

(2) Includes White, Black and Other Race discharges as well as those of an unspecified race.

(3) Between 1988 and 2006, the number of discharges not reporting race increased dramatically. It appears that hospital disharges in 

Whites might be disproportionately underestimated, particularly in later years. For this reason, comparisons between races should be 

made with caution.

Number Rate (1)

Source: National Center for Health Statistics. National Hospital Discharge Survey, 1979-2006.
Year Combined Settings Physician Offices

Outpatient 

Departments

Emergency 

Departments

1989 6,822 6,822 NA NA

1990 7,137 7,137 NA NA

1991 NA NA NA NA

1992 11,851 9,740 644 1,467

1993 14,048 11,340 1,022 1,686

1994 13,373 10,757 1,009 1,607

1995 12,192 9,026 1,301 1,865

1996 11,889 9,051 903 1,935

1997 12,848 9,834 1,097 1,917

1998 15,886 12,868 984 2,034

1999 12,805 9,498 1,310 1,997

2000 12,203 9,332 1,036 1,835

2001 14,231 11,280 1,286 1,665

2002 15,815 12,692 1,225 1,898

2003 16,120 12,855 1,512 1,753

2004 16,500 13,607 1,054 1,838

2005 15,897 12,823 1,304 1,770

2006 14,586 10,590 1,198 1,681

Note:

NA: Not Available

Number of visits in thousands

Table 19: Asthma - Number of Visits to Physician Offices, Outpatient Departments and Emergency 

Departments, 1989-2006

Sources: National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 1989-2006, and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care 

Survey, 1992-2006.
Table 20: Projected Economic Cost of Asthma, United States, 2010

Category Cost

Direct Medical Expenditures:

Hospital Care 5.5

Physicians' Services 1 4.2

Prescription Drugs 5.9

All Direct Expenditures 15.6

Indirect Costs:

Morbidity 3.1

Mortality (Death) 2.0

All Indirect Costs 5.1

All Costs: 20.7

Note:

(1) Physician services includes physicians, clinics and other professional services.

Source: NHLBI - 2009 Chartbook on Cardiovascular, Lung and Blood Diseases

( in billions)
0.8

1.0

1.2

1.41.61.82.0

2.2

2.4

Age-Adjusted Death Rates per 100,000 Persons

19402000

1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 

0.9 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.2 1.1 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.7 1.6 1.8 1.8 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.1 2.2 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.0 1.7 1.6 

Figure 1: Asthma - Age-Adjusted Death Rates Based on the 1940 an

populations, 1979-2006 (1)

Source: Age Standardization of Death Rates: Implementation of the Year 2000 Standard. National Vital Statistand CDC Wonder On-line Database, compiled from Compressed Mortality File 1999-2005 Series 20 No. 2K, 212, 2008.Notes:1)1979-1998 rates reflect the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision Code 493. 1999-2006 rates Revision Codes J45-J46.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 2008

Note:(1) Lifetime Prevalence is defined as answering yes to "Have you EVER been told by a doctor or other he

had asthma?"

Figure 2: Percentage Distribution of Lifetime Asthm

Sex, Age, Ethnic Origin and Geographic Region, 20

Female

20,563,081

53.5%

Male

17,867,295

46.5%

18-44 years

14,891,564

38.7%

Hispanic

4,676,998

12.2%

North

6,738

17.

We

9,081

23.6

Midwest

9,725,386

25.3%

South

12,885,325

33.5%

5-17 yea

8,691,35

22.6%

Lifetime 

Asthma

38,430,376

45-64 

year

9,265,710

24.1%

Sex Age

Geographic 

Region

Non-Hispanic White

25,764,148

67.0%

Non-Hispanic Black

6,133,131

16.0%

Non-Hispanic Other

1,856,099

4.8%

Race
Source: National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 2008.

Note:(1) Current prevalence is defined as answering yes to "Have you EVER been told by a doctor or other hea

had asthma?" and "Do you still have asthma?"

Figure 3: Percentage Distribution of Current As

Sex, Age, Ethnic Origin and Geographic Region

Female

12,906,608

55.4%

Male

10,410,894

44.6%

18-44 years

7,944,927

34.1%

Hispanic

2,696,473

11.6%

N

4,

W

5,5

2

Midwest

6,184,034

26.5%

South

7,461,375

32.0%

5-17 ye

5,676,

24.3

Current

Asthma

23,317,502

45-64 yea

5,765,100

24.7%

Sex Age

Geographic 

Region

Non-Hispanic 

White

15,471,719

66.4%

Non-Hispanic Black

4,029,342

17.3%

Non-Hispanic Other

1,119,968

4.8%

Race
Source: National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 2008

Note:(1) Attack prevalence is defined as answering yes to "Have you EVER been told by a doctor or other healt

asthma?" and "During the past 12 months have you had an epidsode of asthma or an asthma attack?"

Figure 4: Percentage Distribution of Asthma Attac

Sex, Age, Ethnic Origin and Geographic Region, 2

Female

7,307,793

57.4%

Male

5,418,404

42.6%

18-44 years

4,302,711

33.8%

 Hispanic

1,563,994

12.3%

Nort

2,05

16

Wes

3,319,6

26.1%

Midwest

3,325,807

26.1%

South

4,022,304

31.6%

5-17 yea

3,287,95

25.8%

Asthma

Attacks

12,726,197

45-64 yea

3,201,220

25.2%

Sex Age

Geographic 

Region

Non-Hispanic White

8,336,575

65.5%

Non-Hispanic 

Black

2,230,905

17.5%

Non-Hispanic Other

594,723

4.7%

Race
WA

9.3%

OR

8.6%

CA

8.4%

NV

8.6%

ID

8.9%

MT

9.6%

WY

9.2%

UT

8.4% CO

8.1%

AZ

9.8% NM

8.5%

ND

7.9%

SD

7.2%

NE

7.1%

KS

8.7%

OK

8.9%

TX

7.3% LA 8.0%

MN

7.8%

IA

7.7%

MO

8.4%

AR

8.3%

MS

7.0%

WI

9.4% MI

9.9%

IL

7.9% IN9.2%

OH

9.6%

KY

9.7%

TN

9.0%

AL

7.8%

GA

8.5%

FL

6.6%

SC

8.3%

NC

7.6%

VA

9.3%

 WV

9.6%

PA

9.3%

N

8.

AK

9.6%

VT 9.9%

NH 1

HI 9.6%

Figure 5: Self-Reported Current Asthma Prevalen

Among Adults by State, 2008 (1)

Source: CDC. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2008Note:1) Answering "YES" to "Have you EVER been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that you had asthma?asthma?"

 U.S. AVERAGE

8.5%
5

10152025303540

Rate per 10,000 Population

<1515-4445-64 65+Total

1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1998 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 

19.8 24.2 25.0 29.3 26.4 29.0 27.8 30.3 28.4 31.0 31.2 30.8 33.9 34.4 28.0 29.5 36.7 33.8 35.8 27.7 31.5 33.6 

9.5 9.5 10.6 9.7 10.1 9.9 11.1 10.8 9.8 9.6 11.0 10.3 10.9 10.0 10.9 10.6 11.4 11.1 9.6 8.6 10.0 9.1 

19.1 22.7 23.4 22.1 26.7 22.8 21.5 22.0 20.4 20.3 19.0 18.2 18.2 16.1 19.0 15.7 16.7 16.4 15.9 16.2 15.9 13.7 27.0 32.7 28.2 30.4 34.2 37.4 34.1 33.7 33.8 36.8 29.9 32.4 28.5 23.6 26.6 22.9 23.0 17.4 19.2 17.7 21.3 19.6 15.7 18.0 18.4 18.9 19.8 19.8 19.5 19.9 18.8 19.6 19.3 19.1 19.6 18.3 18.3 17.4 19.5 17.9 17.9 15.5 17.4 16.7 

Figure 7: Asthma - First-Listed Hospital Discharge Rates per 10,00

Age, 1979-2006 (1, 2)

Source: National Center for Health Statistics. National Hospital Discharge Survey, 1979-2006, and unpublis

special request.Notes: (1) Data from 1988-2006 may not be comparable to earlier years due to the re-design of the survey.

(2) Because these estimates are based on a sample, they may differ from figures that would be obtained fro

 Each data point reported is an estimate of the true population value and subject to sampling variabilitity
5

10152025303540

Rate per 10,000 Population

<1515-4445-64 65+Total

1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1998 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 

19.8 24.2 25.0 29.3 26.4 29.0 27.8 30.3 28.4 31.0 31.2 30.8 33.9 34.4 28.0 29.5 36.7 33.8 35.8 27.7 31.5 33.6 

9.5 9.5 10.6 9.7 10.1 9.9 11.1 10.8 9.8 9.6 11.0 10.3 10.9 10.0 10.9 10.6 11.4 11.1 9.6 8.6 10.0 9.1 

19.1 22.7 23.4 22.1 26.7 22.8 21.5 22.0 20.4 20.3 19.0 18.2 18.2 16.1 19.0 15.7 16.7 16.4 15.9 16.2 15.9 13.7 27.0 32.7 28.2 30.4 34.2 37.4 34.1 33.7 33.8 36.8 29.9 32.4 28.5 23.6 26.6 22.9 23.0 17.4 19.2 17.7 21.3 19.6 15.7 18.0 18.4 18.9 19.8 19.8 19.5 19.9 18.8 19.6 19.3 19.1 19.6 18.3 18.3 17.4 19.5 17.9 17.9 15.5 17.4 16.7 

Figure 7: Asthma - First-Listed Hospital Discharge Rates per 10,00

Age, 1979-2006 (1, 2)

Source: National Center for Health Statistics. National Hospital Discharge Survey, 1979-2006, and unpublis

special request.Notes: (1) Data from 1988-2006 may not be comparable to earlier years due to the re-design of the survey.

(2) Because these estimates are based on a sample, they may differ from figures that would be obtained fro

 Each data point reported is an estimate of the true population value and subject to sampling variabilitity
0

1020304050

Rate per 10,000 Population

WhiteBlackOther

1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 

14.4 13.9 12.7 12.8 10.2 11.5 10.5 11.6 10.8 11.8 10.0 10.4 10.3 10.1 10.5 39.4 39.2 38.3 38.9 42.8 32.3 38.6 42.7 40.1 35.5 32.2 35.5 32.9 31.7 36.0 

36.1 24.2 19.8 22.9 23.8 20.1 26.0 21.4 26.5 30.7 21.0 31.2 10.3 12.2 9.9 

Figure 8: Asthma - First-Listed Hospital Discharge Rates per 10,0

by Race 1988-2006 (1,2)

Source: National Center For Health Statistics. National Hospital Discharge Survey, 1988-2006, and unpublished data provided Notes:1. Between 1988 and 2006, the number of discharges not reporting race increased dramatically. It appears that hospital dischadisproportionally underestimated, particularly in later years. For this reason comparisons between races should be made with c2. Rates shown here may differ from previously published rates due to adjustments made to the populations used. Because thesample, they may differ from figures that would be obtained from a census of the population. Each data point reported is an estvalue and subject to sampling variability.