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What is Asthma?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), asthma is a disease that affects your lungs. It causes repeated episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and nighttime or early morning coughing. Asthma can be controlled by taking medicine and avoiding the triggers that can cause an attack. You must also remove the triggers in your environment that can make your asthma worse.
How Does Asthma Affect African American Populations?
Current asthma prevalence percentage, adults ages 18 and over, 2019
Non-Hispanic Black
Non-Hispanic White
Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Men
8.6
5.8
1.5
Women
11.9
10.2
1.2
Both Sexes
10.4
8.0
1.3
Source: CDC 2022. National Health Interview Survey Data 2019. Table 4-1.https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/nhis/2019/table4-1.htm
Percentage of asthma among adults 18 years of age and over, ever being told they had asthma, 2018-2020
10.3
8.1
Source: CDC 2022. 2018-2020 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/most_recent_national_asthma_data.htm
Percentage of adults 18 years of age and over, who currently have asthma, 2021
10.6
8.2
Source: National Center for Health Statistics. Percentage of current asthma for adults aged 18 and over, United States, 2022. National Health Interview Survey. Generated interactively: Nov 29, 2022. https://wwwn.cdc.gov/NHISDataQueryTool/SHS_adult/index.html
Deaths per 1,000,000, adults 18 years and over with asthma as the underlying cause, National Vital Statistics System, 2020
34.9
13.0
2.7
Source: CDC 2022. Division of Vital Statistics CDC WONDER. https://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html [Accessed 11/29/22]
Estimated rate of emergency department/urgent care center visits in the past 12 months with asthma as the first listed diagnosis per 10,000 population (Adults aged =18 years), 2016-2018
Non-Hispanic
White
African American / White Ratio
15.1
7.9
1.9
Source: CDC 2022. Asthma Surveillance – United States, 2006-2018. Supplementary Table 13. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/109086
Hospital admissions rate per 100,000 for asthma, adults age 18 to 39, 2019
82.3
22.1
3.7
Source: National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. Data Query. [Accessed 11/29/2022]https://datatools.ahrq.gov/nhqdr
Percentage of people with current asthma who are taking preventive medicine daily or almost daily, 2019
32.7
32.6
1.0
Source: National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. Data Query. [Accessed 11/29/2022] https://datatools.ahrq.gov/nhqdr?tab=nhqdrdaqu&type=tab
Age-adjusted percentage for children under 18 years of age, ever being told they had asthma, 2020
12.3
5.5
2.2
Source: CDC 2022. 2018-2020 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).
http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/most_recent_national_asthma_data.htm
Age-adjusted percentage for children under 18 years of age who currently have asthma, 2018
14.2
5.6
2.5
Source: CDC 2022. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2018. Table C-1a.http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/shs/tables.htm
Current asthma prevalence percentage, children under 18 years, 2021
12.5
5.7
Source: CDC 2022. National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). https://wwwn.cdc.gov/NHISDataQueryTool/SHS_child/index.html
Estimated rate of emergency department/urgent care center visits in the past 12 months with asthma as the first listed diagnosis per 10,000 population (Children aged 0–17 years) 2016-2018
26.6
12.1
Hospital admissions rate per 100,000 for asthma, children ages 2-17, 2019
172.1
38.0
4.5
Source: AHRQ 2022.National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. Data Query. https://datatools.ahrq.gov/nhqdr [Accessed 11/29/2022]
Death rate for children 0-17 years of age, 2020 (deaths per 1,000,000)
10.7
1.4
7.6
Source: CDC 2022. Data, Statistics, and Surveillance. Most Recent National Asthma Data. https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/most_recent_national_asthma_data.htm
Death rate for children 0-14 years of age, 2019 (deaths per 100,000)
0.8
0.1
Source: CDC 2022. CDC WONDER Online Database.https://wonder.cdc.gov/ [Accessed 11/29/2022]
People with current asthma who received written asthma management plans from their healthcare provider (percent), 2018
42.9
33.8