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Michigan Value:
Percentage of children ages 0-17 who currently have asthma (2-year estimate)
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Percentage of children ages 0-17 who currently have asthma (2-year estimate)
<= 5.1%
5.2% - 6.3%
6.4% - 7.0%
7.1% - 7.7%
>= 7.8%
US Value: 6.6%
Top State(s): Hawaii: 3.9%
Bottom State(s): Maine: 9.7%
Definition: Percentage of children ages 0-17 who currently have asthma (2-year estimate)
Data Source and Years(s): National Survey of Children's Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), 2022-2023
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of National Survey of Children's Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2024.
Asthma is a serious chronic disease that affects the lungs and commonly causes wheezing, difficulty breathing and coughing. However, not everyone who has asthma has these symptoms and having these symptoms doesn't always mean someone has asthma. Although deaths due to asthma are relatively rare and generally preventable, asthma can be life-threatening if not properly treated.
There are many risk factors for childhood asthma, including:
Childhood asthma has negative educational and economic impacts. Children with asthma miss an additional 2.3 days of school per year on average compared with their peers without asthma. A 2015 study estimated the annual costs of pediatric asthma in the U.S. at $5.92 billion.
According to data from the National Survey of Children’s Health, the prevalence of asthma is higher among:
A doctor can determine if a child has asthma by asking questions about their breathing and family history. The doctor might perform a spirometry test to see how well a child’s lungs work. Asthma can be controlled by avoiding asthma triggers and following a doctor’s advice. Common asthma triggers include tobacco smoke, dust mites, outdoor air pollution, pets and mold. Other interventions like home visits and school-centered asthma programs can help improve asthma complications in children and reduce costs for families.
Strategies to help your child manage asthma include:
The Community Preventive Services Task Force recommends school-based asthma self-management education to reduce hospitalizations and emergency room visits among children with asthma. The American Lung Association’s Open Airways for Schools program aims to educate children ages 8-11 about asthma self-management. Through interactive activities, the program teaches children with asthma to recognize warning signs, avoid triggers and make informed decisions about their health.
County Health Rankings & Roadmaps has found that having a professional perform a healthy home environment assessment reduces exposure to allergens, improves air quality and leads to better self-management of asthma.
Healthy People 2030 has multiple objectives related to asthma, including:
Liptzin, Deborah R., Melanie C. Gleason, Lisa C. Cicutto, Chris L. Cleveland, Donna J. Shocks, Martha K. White, Anna V. Faino, and Stanley J. Szefler. “Developing, Implementing, and Evaluating a School-Centered Asthma Program: Step-Up Asthma Program.” The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice 4, no. 5 (September 2016): 972-979.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaip.2016.04.016.
Marshall, Erica T., Jing Guo, Elizabeth Flood, Megan T. Sandel, Matthew D. Sadof, and Jean M. Zotter. “Home Visits for Children With Asthma Reduce Medicaid Costs.” Preventing Chronic Disease 17 (2020). https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd17.190288.
Nurmagambetov, Tursynbek, Robin Kuwahara, and Paul Garbe. “The Economic Burden of Asthma in the United States, 2008–2013.” Annals of the American Thoracic Society 15, no. 3 (March 2018): 348–56. https://doi.org/10.1513/AnnalsATS.201703-259OC.
Sullivan, Patrick W., Vahram Ghushchyan, Prakash Navaratnam, Howard S. Friedman, Abhishek Kavati, Benjamin Ortiz, and Bob Lanier. “The National Cost of Asthma among School-Aged Children in the United States.” Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 119, no. 3 (September 2017): 246-252.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anai.2017.07.002.
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