Asthma's Impact on Your State
Asthma affects an estimated 18.7 million adults (aged +18 years) and 7 million children (aged< 18 years) in the United States. CDC's National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) recently released the 2011 Asthma State Profiles to provide an overview of the burden of asthma in 34 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, all of which receive funding from the National Asthma Control Program.
The 2011 Asthma State Profiles provide information about the number of people who are affected by asthma in each state, compared with the United States. The Profiles address the following categories:
- Adults and children
- Asthma patient education and medication use
According to the Profiles, in 2007, asthma was the underlying cause of death for the following states:
- Georgia: 86 adults
- Ohio: 135 adults
- Illinois: 141 adults
Click on your state within the map to get more detailed information.
Learn More about Asthma
Asthma is a disease that
- affects your lungs,
- is one of the most common long-term diseases of children (adults can have it, too), and
- causes repeated episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and night time or early morning coughing.
The exact cause of asthma is unknown, and asthma cannot be cured. However, if you or your child has asthma, it can be controlled by doing the following:
- Receiving ongoing medical care and education about how to manage asthma and asthma attacks.
- Avoiding asthma triggers at school, work, home, outdoors, and elsewhere.
Triggers for asthma can include mold, tobacco smoke, outdoor air pollution, and infections linked to influenza, colds, and other viruses. Avoiding these triggers, along with using inhaled corticosteroids and other medicines, are the keys to preventing an asthma attack. Visit CDC’s National Asthma Control Program site to learn more about asthma and how you can manage it.
- Page last reviewed: January 9, 2012
- Page last updated: January 9, 2012
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