Survey details asthma’s growing cost to US in lost productivity

The proportion of Americans with asthma increased by nearly 15 percent from 2001 to 2010, according to survey data released by the CDC.

The report, Asthma’s Impact on the Nation, also estimates that 12.7% of Americans have been diagnosed with asthma in their lifetime and that 8.2% of Americans still had asthma. Survey results were based on the first state-by-state-data gathered using the CDC’s Asthma Call-back Survey which focuses on people with asthma identified by the CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

Calling the information a “stark reminder,” Christopher J. Portier, PhD, director of the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, said “ … asthma continues to be a major public health concern with a large financial impact on families, the nation, and our health care system.”

Portier also said the survey reveals that more than half of all children and two-thirds of all adults with asthma do not have an individualized action plan.

Other highlights from the 2010 data:

Among children, 13.6% have been diagnosed with asthma in their lifetimes and 9.4% still had asthma.
In 2008, school-age children who had one or more asthma attacks in the previous year missed 10.5 million days of school.
In 2008, adults who were employed and had one or more asthma attacks during the previous year missed 14.2 million days of work because of asthma.
The total estimated cost of asthma, including medical expenses, is $50.1 billion per year.
The cost of lost productivity (missed school/missed work days) is $3.8 billion annually.