Inhaled short-acting beta2-agonists give quick relief during asthma attacks. Under the national asthma guidelines (Expert Panel Report 3, 2007), using these quick-relief medications (QRMs) on more than 2 days a week counts as frequent use — a possible sign that asthma is not well controlled and that anti-inflammatory medicine should be started or stepped up.
How common it is
Among people with active asthma — those reporting asthma medication use, symptoms or doctor visits for asthma in the past year — 24.3% of adults (18 and older) and 18.7% of children (17 and younger) used QRMs frequently in the past 3 months.
Frequent use varied by state:
- Adults: from 17.1% in New Jersey to 32.4% in West Virginia.
- Children: from 10.3% in Wisconsin to 27.9% in Connecticut.
Adults with active asthma who used quick-relief medication frequently, by state. CDC.
Children with active asthma who used quick-relief medication frequently, by state. CDC.
State figures
| State | Adults | Children |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 32.1% | — |
| Alaska | 22.9% | — |
| Arizona | 29.6% | 12.1% |
| California | 25.4% | 27.0% |
| Colorado | 26.2% | — |
| Connecticut | 22.8% | 27.9% |
| District of Columbia | 17.6% | 20.5% |
| Florida | 22.4% | — |
| Georgia | 22.6% | 19.7% |
| Hawaii | 18.3% | 11.7% |
| Illinois | 23.0% | 20.8% |
| Indiana | 28.7% | 18.4% |
| Iowa | 20.5% | 11.4% |
| Kansas | 24.1% | 18.2% |
| Louisiana | 22.6% | 17.7% |
| Maine | 29.8% | 14.9% |
| Maryland | 18.8% | 18.7% |
| Massachusetts | 23.0% | 20.7% |
| Michigan | 23.2% | 17.4% |
| Mississippi | 29.5% | 23.6% |
| Missouri | 27.6% | 22.3% |
| Montana | 26.7% | 18.3% |
| Nebraska | 24.2% | 19.7% |
| Nevada | 20.7% | — |
| New Hampshire | 21.8% | 17.1% |
| New Jersey | 17.1% | 17.2% |
| New Mexico | 30.8% | 19.7% |
| New York | 26.3% | 15.9% |
| North Dakota | 25.9% | 12.7% |
| Ohio | 22.4% | 12.7% |
| Oklahoma | 31.0% | 15.7% |
| Oregon | 21.2% | 15.2% |
| Pennsylvania | 25.0% | 15.4% |
| Rhode Island | 25.7% | 25.2% |
| Texas | 23.0% | 15.4% |
| Utah | 17.7% | 18.6% |
| Vermont | 22.2% | 19.1% |
| Virginia | 23.4% | 20.8% |
| Washington | 22.7% | 18.6% |
| West Virginia | 32.4% | 21.6% |
| Wisconsin | 26.6% | 10.3% |
| Puerto Rico | 23.4% | — |
A dash means no data. The national totals cover 41 states for adults and 35 for children, plus the District of Columbia, and exclude Puerto Rico. Data come from CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Asthma Call-back Survey, 2006–2010.
About the program
CDC's National Asthma Control Program, created in 1999, helps the millions of Americans with asthma gain control of it. It runs national asthma surveillance and funds states to improve their own surveillance and direct resources where they are needed.
Sources
Rewritten from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention AsthmaStats page "Frequent use of quick-relief medication among persons with active asthma" (public domain), in hubnx's own words.
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.cdc.gov
1
0
0
0
Comments
