Asian American Health

Asthma and Asian Americans

  • From 2019–2021, an estimated 743,633 non-Hispanic Asian Americans in the United States currently had asthma.1
  • Asian American adults were 50% less likely to have asthma than non-Hispanic white adults in 2023.2
  • In 2022, non-Hispanic Asian Americans were 30% less likely to die from asthma related causes than non-Hispanic whites.3
  • From 2016–2018, Non-Hispanic Asian Americans were nearly two times more likely to visit an emergency department or urgent care clinic for asthma than non-Hispanic whites.4

Prevalence

Current asthma among adults age 18 and over, percentage, 2023
Asian onlyNon-Hispanic WhiteAsian only /
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
4.99.20.5
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
 AsianNon-Hispanic WhiteAsian /
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
7.814.20.5
Source: CDC, 2019. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2018. Table A-2a.
Adults age 18 and over who currently have asthma, percentage, 2018 
Asian Non-Hispanic WhiteAsian /
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
3.78.00.5
Source: CDC 2019. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2018. Table A-2a.
Adults age 18 and over with asthma by Asian subgroup, percentage, 2004–2006
 PopulationNon-Hispanic WhitePopulation /
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Total Asian8.011.00.7
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander10.211.00.9
Chinese5.911.00.5
Filipino10.711.01.0
Asian Indian7.711.00.7
Japanese8.311.00.8
Vietnamese7.111.00.6
Korean6.911.00.6
Source: CDC, 2008. Health Characteristics of the Asian Adult Population: United States, 2004–2006. Table 4.

Death Rate

Asthma mortality, age-adjusted rate per 100,000 population, 2022
Non-Hispanic AsianNon-Hispanic WhiteNon-Hispanic Asian /
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
0.50.80.6
Source: CDC WONDER. Underlying Cause of Death, 2018–2022. [Accessed 10/30/2024]

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 AsianNon-Hispanic WhiteNon-Hispanic Asian /
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
14.98.61.7
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 Asian or Pacific IslanderNon-Hispanic WhiteNon-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander /
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
3.715.40.2
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 AsianNon-Hispanic WhiteNon-Hispanic Asian /
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 AsianNon-Hispanic WhiteNon-Hispanic Asian /
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
3.35.50.6
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
AsianNon-Hispanic WhiteAsian /
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
8.29.40.9
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, 2018
AsianNon-Hispanic WhiteAsian /
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
3.95.60.7
Source: CDC, 2019. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2018. Table C-1a.
Hospital admissions for asthma among children ages 2–17, rate per 100,000 population, 2020
Non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific IslanderNon-Hispanic WhiteNon-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander /
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
10.716.60.6
Source: AHRQ. National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. Data Query.
Asthma mortality among children ages 0–17, rate per million, 2021
Non-Hispanic AsianNon-Hispanic WhiteNon-Hispanic Asian /
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
AsianNon-Hispanic WhiteAsian /
Non-Hispanic White Ratio
4.98.00.6
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 to top)

2 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. (Back to top)

3 CDC WONDER. Underlying Cause of Death, 2018–2022. (Back to top)

4 CDC, 2021. Asthma Surveillance – United States, 2006–2018. Supplementary Table 13. (Back to top)