Official Site of The State of New Jersey
Asthma Prevalence in Adults by Year, New Jersey and the United States, 2011 to 2022
Indicator Report Data View Options
Why Is This Important?
Asthma is a serious personal and public health issue that has far reaching medical, economic, and psychosocial implications. People with asthma are more likely to miss school or work, report feelings of depression, and experience an overall reduced quality of life. Asthma is also costly, with expenses from routine checkups, emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and medications putting a significant burden on families, the health care sector, and the economy. Though it cannot be cured, asthma can be controlled through quality health care, appropriate medications, and good self-management skills. When asthma is controlled, people with the disease have few, if any, symptoms, and can live normal and productive lives.
Definition
Adults aged 18 and over, who reported having been told by a doctor that they have asthma and who currently have asthma.
All prevalence estimates are age-adjusted to the U.S. 2000 standard population (except for rates by age group).
Data Notes
- Data have been age-adjusted to the U.S. 2000 standard population.
- No data were collected in 2019.
Data Sources
- Behavioral Risk Factor Survey, Center for Health Statistics, New Jersey Department of Health
(http://www.nj.gov/health/chs/njbrfs/) - Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/index.html)
How the Measure is Calculated
Numerator:
Total number of respondents answering "yes" to both of the BRFSS asthma core questions: 1. Have you ever been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that you had asthma? 2. Do you still have asthma?Denominator:
Includes all survey respondents ages 18 years and older except those with missing, don't know, or refused answers to the core asthma questions
Data Issues
Data from the New Jersey Behavioral Risk Factor Survey are intended to be representative of all non-institutionalized adult residents of New Jersey. Due to resource issues, however, adults with limited personal access to phone service or limited command of either English or Spanish are not represented. As with all surveys, also, some error results from nonresponse (e.g., refusal to participate in the survey or to answer specific questions), and faulty measurement (e.g., responses affected by social desirability or recall error). Data collection procedures intended to minimize such errors include the use of strict calling protocols, good questionnaire design, standardization of interviewer behavior, interviewer training, and frequent, on-site interviewer monitoring and supervision. Statistical weighting procedures are also used to minimize the potential impact of disproportionate representation of demographic subgroups defined in terms of age, sex, race, ethnicity, education level, marital status, home ownership, and county of residence. (See also Behavioral Risk Factor Survey Data Description and Technical Notes.)Related Health Objectives and Indicators
Health Initiative: CDI
Chronic Disease Indicator AST02
Description: Current asthma among adults
https://www.cdc.gov/cdi/indicator-definitions/asthma.html
Health Initiative: EPHT
Environmental Public Health Tracking Indicator AS-54
Description: Asthma prevalence among adults
https://ephtracking.cdc.gov/indicatorPages?selectedContentAreaAbbreviation=3&selectedIndicatorId=54