Just how big is the asthma problem? If you think that you are the only one who has asthma, think again …
· Approximately 20 million Americans have asthma.
· Nine million U.S. children under 18 have been diagnosed with asthma.
· More than four million children have had an asthma attack in the previous year.
· More than 70% of people with asthma also suffer from allergies.
· 10 million Americans suffer specifically from allergic asthma.
· The prevalence of asthma increased 75% from 1980-1994.
· Asthma rates in children under the age of five have increased more than 160% from 1980-1994.
· In 2003, there were 12.7 million physician office visits and 1.2 million outpatient department visits due to asthma.
· There were 1.9 million asthma-related visits to emergency departments in 2002.
· There are approximately 5,000 deaths from asthma annually.
· Direct health care costs for asthma in the United States total more than $11.5 billion annually; indirect costs (lost productivity) add another $4.6 billion for a total of $16.1 billion.
Prescription drugs represented the largest single direct medical expenditure, over $5 billion.
· 12.8 million school days are missed annually due to asthma.
· The value of reduced productivity due to death represented the largest single indirect cost related to asthma, approaching $1.7 billion.
· Asthma accounts for approximately 24.5 million missed work days for adults annually.
· Asthma prevalence is 39% higher in African Americans than in whites.
· The prevalence of asthma in adult females was 35% greater than the rate in males, in 2003.
· Approximately 40% of children who have asthmatic parents will develop asthma.
SOURCE : www.asthmainformationguide.com
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