25 Highest Asthma Rates in the US by City

Published on July 7, 2021 at 8:55 am by Sajjl Nooranne in Lists, News

In this article we will take a look at the 25 highest Asthma Rates in the US by City. You can skip our detailed analysis of these cities and the problem of asthma, and go directly to 5 Highest Asthma Rates in the US by City.

Asthma is a respiratory condition that causes the sufferer’s air passages to become narrow and inflamed, making it difficult for them to breathe. Although the symptoms of every affected person may be different, the most common are coughing, wheezing, and feeling tightness in the chest area. The disease affects millions of people worldwide and has no singular underlying cause. Instead, asthma attacks can be triggered by a variety of inhaled allergens such as dust, smoke, mold, pollen particles, and even bottled scents. Allergic asthma is the most common kind of asthma which could be triggered by everyday things such as dust or even pet dander; moreover, the prevalence of asthma can be hereditary.

Due to the wide range of allergens, there is no perfect medicine to cure the condition; however, asthma symptoms can be managed by a combination of medications that include long-term preventive medications and fast-acting reliever drugs, known as rescue medicines, in the short term. Nevertheless, in some cases, asthma attacks are severe and require the sufferer to be hospitalized. Quick-relief medications include Ventolin produced by GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE: GSK), Bricanyl by AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ: AZN), and Risankizumab manufactured by AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV). On the other hand, long term medicines that are used to prevent asthma attacks include Spiriva manufactured by Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), Zyflo produced by Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT), and Advair Diskus manufactured by Lannett Company, Inc. (NYSE: LCI).

Note of caution: This is not a medical advice. Consult a professional doctor before taking any of the above-mentioned medications.

Children and teenagers are more prone to developing asthma, as 6 million individuals out of the 26 million people that suffer from the condition in the United States were under the age of 18. It is even more difficult for asthma patients to lead normal lives since the outbreak of the COVID 19 as asthma sufferers are at even higher risk of contracting the virus. Moreover, there are several risk factors that make people more prone to being affected by asthma, such as pollen count in the air, environmental pollution, smoking, lack of healthcare and health insurance, poverty, lack of education, insufficient smoking laws, and the use of fast-acting relief medicine.

Our Methodology

This article discusses the highest asthma rates in the US by city, according to three factors: asthma prevalence, asthma-related emergency hospital visits, and asthma-related deaths.

The primary source for the information used in this article is the report named Asthma Capitals 2021 published by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA).

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With this context in mind, let’s now discuss the 25 highest asthma rates in the US by city.

Highest Asthma Rates in the US by City

25. Rochester, New York

The percentage of Rochester residents that suffer from asthma was recorded as 8.8% in the last survey in the year 2017. Data also shows that asthma in Rochester is prevalent in areas of low income and high poverty.

24. Tulsa, Oklahoma

Mountain cedar pollen is one of the strongest allergens in the United States, and vast populations of these trees are present in Oklahoma. Due to this specific kind of vegetation, high concentrations of mountain cedar pollen are present in Tulsa. Consequently, Tulsa is often ranked among the toughest cities for living with allergies and asthma and is the 24^th in our list of 25 highest asthma rates in the US by city.

23. New York City, New York

In New York City, about 10 percent of all the adults are asthmatic. However, racial disparities exist, as the rate of asthma is the highest in African American children at 22%. On the other hand. Hispanic children have a 15% rate of asthma prevalence, while the percentage is 10% for Asian children and 4% for White children.

22. Jackson, Mississippi

Jackson, Mississippi, is 22^nd on the list of the 25 highest asthma rates in the US by city due to asthma-related deaths. However, there is no prominent cause of the prevalence of the disease.

21. Charleston, South Carolina

The highest rate of asthma prevalence in Charleston, South Carolina, is among children and teenagers. In Charleston, asthma is also one of the most prevalent causes of disabilities in young people; it causes children to be hospitalized in more than 2,900 cases annually. There has been a stark increase in hospitalizations of children suffering from asthma in the last 30 years.

20. Greensboro, North Carolina

Greensboro, North Carolina, has a high rate of hospital visits by asthma patients, and hence is the 20^th of the 25 highest asthma rates in the US by city. Medical and environmental experts in the city suggest that fungus, mold, and pests such as cockroaches in addition to agriculture, and socio-economic disparities contribute to the high rate of asthma in Greensboro. Moreover, healthcare policymakers strongly blame the insufficient access to healthcare in the state for the spread of the disease. They add that asthma rates in the US are the highest in low-income and rural communities, especially those in eastern North Carolina.

19. Fresno, California

As of February 2021, 10.2% of all adults residing in Fresno, California suffered from asthma. Racial disparities are strong, as higher percentages of black and American Indian populations suffer from asthma than do Caucasian children. More than 33% of all African American and American Indian children have been diagnosed with asthma as compared to 17% of white children, 12.5% of Latino children, and 10% of Asian children. In Fresno, more than 20% of all children have been diagnosed with asthma, which is much higher than the 15.8% of children in the rest of California.

18. Boston, Massachusetts

The prevalence of asthma is high in Boston, Massachusetts, making it the 18th on the list of 25 highest asthma rates in the US by city. Statistically, 10.2% of adults and 12.9% of children in Boston have been diagnosed with asthma. Racial disparities are stark, as asthma-related hospital visits were more than 4 times higher for black residents and more than 3 times higher for Hispanic people as compared to white people.

17. Hartford, Connecticut

The asthma rate in Hartford is 11% for children and 10.5% for adults. In Connecticut, Hartford, Bridgeport, and New Haven are the most affected by asthma. This is primarily due to smoke from automobiles and cigarettes, mold, and incorrect disposal of trash in the city. In the low-income neighborhoods in Hartford, asthma is more common. Annual hospital visits by asthma patients account for 1,738 in areas with only 10,000 residents. In a wealthy neighborhood in the same city, the count of hospital visits due to asthma was only 78.

Companies like GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE: GSK), AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ: AZN), AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) and Lannett Company, Inc. (NYSE: LCI) which make asthma drugs are seeing a spike in demand amid rising cases of asthma.

16. Louisville, Kentucky

Kentucky had the fourth highest asthma prevalence throughout the US in adults in 2014, with Louisville having the highest percentage of asthma patients. However, unlike most city leaders and communities facing such issues, the people in Louisville united to address the challenge of asthma prevalence. They determined how an integrated asthma surveillance program could improve residents’ daily asthma symptoms as well as inform municipal policy and target community interventions. Due to their efforts and the implementation of the system, Louisville, Kentucky, is seeing a decline in asthma cases.

15. Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan is 14^th on the list of 25 highest asthma rates in the US by city. The rate of hospitalizations for asthma patients was three times less for Michigan residents as compared to the residents of Detroit. However, asthma-related hospitalizations were much worse for black people in Detroit, as the rate was 35% greater for black persons as compared to white persons in the city.

14. Birmingham, Alabama

High rates of asthma patients and high asthma-related deaths contribute to Birmingham, Alabama being 14^th on the list of 25 highest asthma rates in the US by city. The city’s 16.2% poverty rate is the major reason behind these outcomes. Moreover, the lax smoking laws in Birmingham do not prevent the public’s exposure to smoke, making asthma even more common in the city.

13. Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, along with Dayton, and Cleveland, is referred to as the Ohio Valley “Asthma Belt”. Columbus is the 13^th on the list of 25 highest asthma rates in the US by city due to its higher-than-average hospital visits by sufferers of asthma. Moreover, Columbus is also unusually high for fast-acting medicine use in asthma cases.

12. Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield, Massachusetts, was the highest in the list of 25 highest asthma rates in the US by city in 2019. The city has a high number of hospital visits due to sudden asthma attacks. The pollen score for the city is the second highest in the nation; the same as that in Hartford, Bridgeport, and New Haven. Springfield’s place on the current list is a direct consequence of the high pollen score of the city.

11. Worcester, Massachusetts

Worchester has higher numbers of asthma-related hospital visits as well as asthma-related deaths, earning it the 11th place on the list of 25 highest asthma rates in the US by city. In the case of Worchester, poverty rates are insignificant; despite the city having the lowest poverty and rate of uninsured residents in the entire country, the city’s residents cannot beat the disease.

10. Tucson, Arizona

Tucson is 10^th on the list of 25 highest asthma rates in the US by city due to it having the fifth-highest asthma-related death rate in the whole country. The primary factor behind the high asthma cases in Tucson, Arizona, is the polluted air and the abnormally high levels of pollen during the spring.

9. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Oklahoma City’s poverty rates, uninsured rates, long-term controller medicine use rates, and annual pollen scores are all higher than average. The city also lacks sufficient smoking laws, which increases passive smoking, and hence triggers asthma. Oklahoma City is therefore ninth on the list of 25 highest asthma rates in the US by city.

8. Dayton, Ohio

Dayton, Ohio, has the 3^rd highest count of emergency room visits due to asthma. The primary reasons for the city being number 8 on the list of 25 highest asthma rates in the US by city are its high pollen score and high poverty rate.

7. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the number 7 in the list of 25 highest asthma rates in the US by city. The city has a high count of emergency hospital visits by asthma patients along with a high death rate due to the same disease. The high asthma prevalence is largely contributed to the fact that Philadelphia has many low-income neighborhoods.

6. Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio, has a high rate of deaths due to asthma in addition to countless visits to the emergency room by asthma patients, The city is hence number 6 in the list of 25 highest asthma rates in the US by city. The higher rate of asthma prevalence is unsurprising, as the city has the highest poverty rates in the United States at 16.2%.

Click to continue reading and see the 5 Highest Asthma Rates in the US by City.