Self-Reported Asthma Prevalence Among Adults—United States, 2000

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways characterized by episodes of wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and cough and is among the most common chronic diseases in the United States, affecting approximately 10.2 million adults during 1996. Direct and indirect costs associated with asthma during 1998 were an estimated $12.7 billion. Despite the prevalence and associated costs of asthma, state-specific data have not been available. This report summarizes state asthma prevalence data collected from the 2000 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey, which indicated that approximately 7.2% of adults residing in the United States reported having asthma. This is the first state-specific asthma prevalence data available for all 50 states. Continued use of the BRFSS asthma questions will allow state health departments to monitor trends in asthma prevalence and to provide data to direct asthma management.