Demographic Disparities in Asthma Prevalence: A Focus on Gender, Socioeconomic Status, and Geographical Regions in the United States

Background: In the United States (US), the prevalence of asthma among adults is approximately 7.6%, but rates vary dramatically among different ethnic groups.In the US, asthma results in 439,000 hospitalizations, and more than 3,500 people die of asthma each year.Objective: To assess factors associated with asthma among adults aged 18 years and older in the US.Methods: Data were analyzed from the 2021 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (N=97,414).Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess factors associated with selfreported asthma.Analyses were conducted using SAS version 9.4.Results: In 2021, the overall prevalence of asthma in US adults was 10.2%.After adjusting for sociodemographic and region of residence variables, factors associated with higher odds of reporting current asthma include being female (AOR=1.90;95% CI=1.85, 1.95), being non-Hispanic Black (AOR=1.05;95% CI=1.01, 1.10), American Indian or Alaska Native Non-Hispanic (AOR=1.10;95% CI=1.01, 1.19), having grades 9 through 11 (some high school) level of education (AOR=1.24;95% CI=1.17, 1.32), having college 1 year to 3 years (Some college or technical school) level of education (AOR=1.07;95% CI=1.04, 1.10), and having low annual household income.Furthermore, as compared with respondents from the Midwest region of the U.S., those from the North (AOR=1.23;95% CI=1.19, 1.27) and West (AOR=1.11;95% CI=1.07, 1.15) had higher odds of reporting asthma.Conclusion: Current asthma prevalence was highest among males, low income and education, and residents in the US-North and Western regions.Primary asthma prevention measures should focus on the populations at risk of developing asthma.Further research is needed on the role of exposure to certain environmental elements, which puts people at the most significant risk of developing asthma.