Summary
Summary: Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases among children in the U.S. and a leading cause of pediatric hospitalization. It also is the top reason for missed school days, accounting for more than 5.2 million absences annually. Asthma affects around 6 million children nationwide, at an average annual health care cost of more than $1,700 per child.
On kidsdata.org, estimates of lifetime asthma prevalence are derived from reports of children ages 1–17 being told by a doctor that they have asthma. The number and rate of asthma hospitalizations — which reflect the most severe asthmatic episodes — also are provided for children ages 0–17 by age group.
Asthma rates vary by region, demographics, environment, physician diagnostic practices, and access to care. Although identifying the impact of independent risk factors for asthma is difficult, children of color and those from low-income families are at disproportionately high risk for severe symptoms, missed school days, and hospital visits due to asthma. In particular, African American/Black and Puerto Rican children experience a greater asthma burden compared with white children in the U.S.
This dashboard uses California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) 2001 to 2019 and 2020 data.
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