Asthma Facts

Asthma ranks among the most common chronic conditions in the United States and Indiana. It causes airways to become narrow and swollen making breathing difficult. The most common asthma signs and symptoms are coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. People with asthma may be at risk of a life‐threatening asthma attack. Asthma affects an estimated 23 million people every year in the United States. In Indiana, an estimated 435,000 adults (18 years and older) reported having asthma in 2009.

Hospitalization and Emergency Room Visits

• There were more than 31,000 emergency room visits related to asthma in 2009 – an increase of nearly 3,000 (9.8%) from 2008.

• Nearly 9,100 hospitalizations were recorded due to asthma in 2009, which increased by 6.6 percent from 2008.

Mortality

• There were 66 deaths from asthma in 2007, which translates into an age‐adjusted death rate of 1.03 per 100,000 in population.

• Twice as many women (n=46) than men (n=22) died from asthma in 2007.

Disparities

Within the general population, asthma affects women more than men; however, among children, it affects males more than females. The burden of asthma has been increasing over the past 20 years, especially among children and certain minority populations.

• Among adults with asthma, females have higher prevalence (11.5%) than males (6.6%), higher rates of hospitalizations and emergency room visits, and higher mortality rates than males.

• The prevalence of asthma among on‐Hispanics (9.4%) is more than twice higher than Hispanics (4.3%).

• Blacks have higher hospitalization and emergency room visit rates than whites.

• Children younger than 5 and adults 65 and older have higher hospitalization rates for asthma compared to other age groups.

For more information about Asthma in Indiana, see our Asthma Fact Sheet.

For more information about Asthma in the United States and Worldwide, see the Asthma Fast Facts Sheet.