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?
- From 2018-2020, 4.0 million non-Hispanic blacks (adults and children) reported that they currently have asthma.
- Non-Hispanic African Americans were 30 percent more likely to have asthma than non-Hispanic whites, in 2019.
- In 2020, non-Hispanic blacks were almost three times more likely to die from asthma related causes than the non-Hispanic white population.
- In 2020, non-Hispanic black children had a death rate 7.6 times that of non-Hispanic white children.
- Non-Hispanic black children were 4.5 times more likely to be admitted to the hospital for asthma, as compared to non-Hispanic white children, in 2019.
- While all the causes of asthma remain unclear, children exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke exposure are at increased risk for acute lower respiratory tract infections, such as bronchitis. Children living below or near the poverty level are more likely to have high levels of blood cotinine, a breakdown product of nicotine, than children living in higher income families.
Diagnosed
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
| Non-Hispanic Black | Non-Hispanic White | Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio |
| 10.3 | 8.1 | 1.3 |
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
| Non-Hispanic Black | Non-Hispanic White | Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio |
| 10.6 | 8.2 | 1.3 |
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
Death Rate
Deaths per 1,000,000, adults 18 years and over with asthma as the underlying cause, National Vital Statistics System, 2020
| Non-Hispanic Black | Non-Hispanic White | Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio |
| 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]
Treatment
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 Black | Non-HispanicWhite | 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
| Non-Hispanic Black | Non-Hispanic White | Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio |
| 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
| Non-Hispanic Black | Non-Hispanic White | Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio |
| 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
Children
Age-adjusted percentage for children under 18 years of age, ever being told they had asthma, 2020
| Non-Hispanic Black | Non-Hispanic White | Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio |
| 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
| Non-Hispanic Black | Non-Hispanic White | Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio |
| 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
| Non-Hispanic Black | Non-Hispanic White | Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio | |
| Both Sexes | 12.5 | 5.7 | 2.2 |
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
| Non-Hispanic Black | Non-HispanicWhite | African American / White Ratio |
| 26.6 | 12.1 | 2.2 |
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, children ages 2-17, 2019
| Non-Hispanic Black | Non-Hispanic White | Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio |
| 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)
| Non-Hispanic Black | Non-Hispanic White | Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio |
| 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)
| Non-Hispanic Black | Non-Hispanic White | Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio |
| 0.8 | 0.1 | 8.0 |
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
| Non-Hispanic Black | Non-Hispanic White | Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio |
| 42.9 | 33.8 | 1.3 |
Source: AHRQ 2022.National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. Data Query. https://datatools.ahrq.gov/nhqdr [Accessed 11/29/2022]
Last Edited: 09/22/2023