Asthma:
The Impact of Multiple Chronic Conditions
Introduction
In 2000, 12 million Americans were estimated to have asthma. Overall, 4.4% of Americans have asthma. One in ten people with a chronic condition has asthma.
Figure 1
Age Distribution
Asthma is a chronic condition that decreases in prevalence with age. 6.6% of Americans in the 0-17 age group have asthma. In contrast, 3.7% of people in the 18-34 age group, 3.6% in the 35-64 and 65-74 age groups, and 3.5% in the 75+ age group have asthma. (Figure 1)
Asthma and Other Chronic Conditions
42% of people with asthma have no other chronic conditions. On average, a person with asthma has 2.3 other chronic conditions. The prevalence of asthma decreases with age. One person in five in the 0-17 age group has more than one other chronic condition, while fewer than one person in twenty over age 65 does not have multiple other chronic conditions.
Figure 2
The most common comorbid condition for people across all age groups with asthma is allergies (22%). The next most common are: hypertension (15%); depression (10%); and arthritis (9%).
Figure 3
Table 1
Age Group / Most Common Comorbidity (%) / Second-Most Common Comorbidity (%)0-17 / Allergies (23%) / Preadult Disorders (5%)
18-34 / Allergies (19%) / Chronic Respiratory Infections (11%)
35-64 / Hypertension (27%) / Allergies (26%)
65-74 / Hypertension (51%) / Heart Disease (31%)
75+ / Hypertension (54%) / Heart Disease (34%)
Costs of Asthma
The average health expenditure for people with asthma is $3,369. There is a positive relationship between average expenditure and number of comorbid chronic conditions, as demonstrated in Figure 4.
Figure 4
There is also a positive relationship between average expenditure and age, as demonstrated in Figure 5.
Figure 5
About Partnership for Solutions
Partnership for solutions, led by Johns Hopkins University and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is an initiative to improve the care and quality of life for the estimated 125 million Americans with chronic health conditions. The Partnership is engaged in three major activities conducting original research and identifying existing research that clarifies the nature of the problem; communicating these research findings to policymakers, business leaders, health professionals, advocates, and others; and working with public and private programs to identify promising solutions to the problems faced by people with chronic conditions.