Asthma and American Indians/Alaska Natives

In 2018, 278,000 American Indian/Native American adults reported that they currently have asthma.¹
From 2019 to 2021, American Indian/Alaska Native children were almost twice as likely to currently have asthma than non-Hispanic white children.¹
In 2023, American Indian/Alaska Native adults were 10% more likely to have asthma than non-Hispanic white adults.²

Prevalence

Current asthma among adults age 18 and over, percentage, 2023
American Indian or Alaska Native only	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian or Alaska Native only / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
9.8	9.2	1.1

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). National Center for Health Statistics. Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Adults. Percentage of current asthma for adults aged 18 and over, United States, 2023.

Adults age 18 and over who have ever been told they have asthma, percentage, 2018
American Indian or Alaska Native only	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian or Alaska Native only / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
14.9	14.2	1.0

Source: CDC, 2019. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2018. Table A-2a.

Adults age 18 and over who currently have asthma, age-adjusted percentage, 2004–2008
Non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
14.2	11.6	1.2

Source: CDC, 2010. National Health Statistics Reports no. 20: Health Characteristics of the American Indian or Alaska Native Adult Population: United States, 2004–2008. Table 4.

Death Rate

Asthma mortality among adults age 18 and over, rate per million, 2016–2018
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
14.5	12.1	1.2

Source: CDC, 2021. Asthma Surveillance – United States, 2006–2018. Supplementary Table 18.

Treatment

Prevalence of emergency department/urgent care visits with asthma as the first listed diagnosis in the past 12 months among all ages with current asthma, percentage, 2016–2018
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
8.1	8.6	0.9

Source: CDC, 2021. Asthma Surveillance – United States, 2006–2018. Supplementary Table 13.

Hospital admissions for asthma among adults ages 18–39, rate per 100,000 population, 2020
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
--	15.4	--

Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report. Data Query.

People with current asthma who are now taking preventive medicine daily or almost daily, percentage, 2020
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
--	33.8	--

Source: AHRQ. National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. Data Query.

Children

Current asthma among children under 18 years of age, percentage, 2019–2021
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
9.2	5.5	1.7

Source: CDC, 2022. Data, Statistics, and Surveillance. Most Recent National Asthma Data.

Children under 18 years of age who were ever told they had asthma, age-adjusted percentage, 2018
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
17.8	9.4	1.9

Source: CDC, 2019. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2018. Table C-1a.

Children under 18 years of age who still have asthma, age-adjusted percentage, 2016
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
16.1	7.0	2.3

Source: CDC, 2017. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2016. Table C-1a.

Hospital admissions for asthma among children ages 2–17, rate per 100,000 population, 2020
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
--	16.6	--

Source: AHRQ. National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. Data Query.

Asthma mortality among children ages 0–17, rate per million, 2021
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
--	1.0	--

Source: CDC, 2022. Data, Statistics, and Surveillance. Most Recent National Asthma Data.

Asthma prevalence among children ages 0–17, percentage, 2004–2005
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
9.9	8.0	1.2

Source: CDC, 2006. The State of Childhood Asthma, United States, 1980–2005. Table B.

¹ CDC, 2022. Data, Statistics, and Surveillance. Most Recent National Asthma Data. (back)

² CDC. National Center for Health Statistics. Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Adults. Percentage of current asthma for adults aged 18 and over, United States, 2023. (back)

Last Edited: 10/29/2024