Asthma

At a glance

Asthma data on the Tracking Network provide several insights. The data focus on people diagnosed and living with asthma and people who experience asthma attacks.

Health care worker assisting young girl using an inhaler

We Track That

Asthma is one of the most common long-term diseases of children. But adults can have asthma, too. Asthma affects all races, ages, and genders.

Asthma attacks can happen when you are exposed to asthma triggers. We don't know all the things that can cause asthma. However, we do know that genetic, environmental, and occupational factors have been linked to developing asthma.

The Tracking Network uses data from several sources to calculate state and local data about asthma. Data sources include the U.S. Census Bureau, state and local health departments, and other CDC programs.

Types of Data

The Tracking Network provides several kinds of asthma data. One is asthma prevalence, which is the number of people diagnosed with and living with asthma. It also provides data on hospital stays and emergency department visits for asthma.

Asthma Prevalence among Adults and Children 

Prevalence estimates are organized by different variables to estimate the number of people with asthma in different time periods and geographic areas. These data are collected from several sources: Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS), CDC's National Asthma Control Program's Asthma Call-back Survey (ACBS), and CDC's Population Level Analysis and Community Estimates (PLACES) Project. PLACES data on the Tracking Network are available at the census tract level for all 50 states.A

Emergency Department Visits for AsthmaB

This indicator estimates the number and rate of emergency department visits for asthma. These data can be used to identify trends and patterns of emergency department visits over time. They also highlight trends in different geographic areas, such as states and counties. A

Hospitalizations for AsthmaB

This indicator can be used to identify trends and patterns in the occurrence of asthma hospitalizations across time and space.A

Access the Data

Use the Data Explorer to create custom maps, tables, and charts.

View data in simple Quick Reports.

Get machine-readable data from the Application Program Interface (API).

Data in Action

You can use Tracking Network asthma data in several ways.

  • Develop interventions to reduce the health burden from this disease
  • Identify which populations need targeted interventions
  • Evaluate prevention and control efforts
  • Discover trends and patterns over time and location

You can use the Tracking Network to review asthma data in relation to other data. This can help create a more complete picture of a community's health. Examples include environmental conditions, health problems, and population characteristics.

Learn More

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Content Source:
National Center for Environmental Health
  1. Asthma hospital admissions tend to be for more severe asthma attacks and do not include asthma among individuals who do not receive medical care, who are not hospitalized, or who are treated in outpatient settings. Differences between geographic areas may be the result of differences in the underlying population or in the diagnostic or coding techniques used by the reporting hospital.
  2. These data are supplied by health departments funded by the CDC Tracking Program.