Asthma Data
Quick Facts

How common is asthma in Minnesota?

• Approximately one in 24 children (4.2%)¹ and one in 12 adults (8.5%)¹ currently have asthma, adding up to around 428,370 Minnesotans who have asthma.²   
• In 2020, during COVID-19, there were 10,990 emergency departments visits and 1,034 hospitalizations for asthma across Minnesota.³ Results for 2021 are not yet available.  
• In Minnesota in 2020, 88 people died due to asthma.
  • 50% of those who died were age 65 or older when they died.
  • 25% of those who died were 85 or older when they died.
  • 8 of those who died were under age 35.⁴

Asthma Disparities in Minnesota

Asthma disparities in Minnesota are driven by a variety of complex factors including structural, social, and political determinants of health such as racism, discrimination, education, access to health care, and environment. 

The likelihood of having asthma differs by race/ethnicity.

• American Indian and African American middle/high school students are more likely than other students to have been diagnosed with asthma.⁵
• Multi-racial adults are more likely than other adults to have been diagnosed with asthma.¹

There are significant differences in the rates of hospitalizations and emergency department visits for asthma by region of the state.

• Rates of both asthma emergency department visits and asthma hospitalizations for children living in the Twin Cities metropolitan area are nearly twice as high as those for children living in Greater Minnesota. ³
• Emergency department visits in counties in Greater Minnesota ranged up to two times higher than the state average.
• During the period 2015 through 2019, asthma emergency visits for children living in Minneapolis zip codes ranged up to nearly 10 times higher than for the average for the state of Minnesota.⁶

Minnesota deaths due to asthma are increasing 

• Deaths from asthma have been increasing since 2017. During this period, annual deaths from asthma increased by 60%.⁶   
• Between 2016 and 2020, the age adjusted death rate for whites was 1 death per 100,000 people. The age adjusted rate for both Blacks and Asians was 2.8 per 100,000; nearly three times higher. ⁶ 

Explore the Data

State Resources: 

Fact Sheets

• Asthma in Minnesota Infographic (PDF) - 9/2023 - A "new" infographic that helps highlight asthma in Minnesota. Use this tool to inform and educate your partners and community around the burden of asthma. 
• Asthma in Minnesota Fact Sheet (PDF) - Updated 6/2023
• Asthma among Middle & High School Students (PDF) - Updated 12/2021
  Data in this fact sheet come from the 2019 Minnesota Student Survey that was conducted among more than 170,000 students in grades 5, 8, 9 and 11 from schools across the state.

Fact Sheets on Tobacco and Asthma 

• Tobacco use and Asthma (PDF) - 8/19/2019
• Smoking and Vaping around Youth who have Asthma (PDF) - 8/19/2019

Data Briefs and Call-Back Survey 

Asthma Educator Institute Survey Infographic (PDF), a survey in March 2023 was conducted to better understand successes of offering scholarships to the American Lung Association’s Asthma Educator Institute (AEI).

The Asthma Call-Back Survey is a comprehensive survey of asthma in children and adults in Minnesota conducted annually since 2015. The telephone survey includes questions on asthma symptoms, work-related asthma, asthma management, asthma triggers in the home, asthma self-management education and access to care. 

• Asthma in Minnesota: Results From the 2019 Call-Back Survey (PDF)
• Asthma in Minnesota: Results From the 2017 Call-Back Survey (PDF)

Reports

Asthma Among Minnesota Health Care Program Beneficiaries: A Joint Report from the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Department of Human Services (PDF) (December 2018),this report provides updated data on the burden of asthma in the public health care programs overseen by Minnesota Department of Health and Human Services.

Minnesota Health Care Quality Measures: 2023 Report Year 

• Optimal Asthma Control Measure Specifications - 2022 Measurement Year (PDF) 
• Asthma Education and Self-Management Specifications 2023 Report Year/2022 Measurement Year (PDF)

Minnesota Community Measurement 

• Minnesota Community Measurement 
• Minnesota Health Care Disparities - results for care delivered in 2012 | Report released November 2022
• Issue Brief: Optimal Asthma Control in 2020 Adults and Children 

Minnesota Public Health Data Access Portal

MN Public Health Data Access Portal – Asthma in Minnesota
The data access portal provides additional information on Asthma Emergency Department (ED) visits and Asthma Hospitalizations in Minnesota. Explore the data by viewing charts, interactive and static maps, or by selecting a asthma query (state or one or more counties).

National Resources: 

American Lung Association:

• Current Asthma Demographics
• Asthma Trends and Burden 
• Data Tables 

Allergy & Asthma Network:

• Asthma Disparities and Health Inequities

Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America:

• Asthma Facts and Figures
• Asthma Disparities in America

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• Data, Statistics, and Surveillance

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health

• Asthma and African Americans

References

¹ Minnesota Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2020
²United States Federal Census Quick Facts, 2022
³Minnesota Public Health Data Access, 2020
⁴Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC WONDER Online Database
⁵Minnesota Student Survey, 2019
⁶ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics, CDC WONDER Online Database, Underlying cause of Health, 1999-2020.