The Economic Burden of Asthma in the United States, 2008–2013

Rationale: Asthma is a chronic disease that affects quality of life, productivity at work and school, and healthcare use; and it can result in death. Measuring the current economic burden of asthma provides important information on the impact of asthma on society. This information can be used to make informed decisions about allocation of limited public health resources.Objectives: In this paper, we provide a comprehensive approach to estimating the current prevalence, medical costs, cost of absenteeism (missed work and school days), and mortality attributable to asthma from a national perspective. In addition, we estimate the association of the incremental medical cost of asthma with several important factors, including race/ethnicity, education, poverty, and insurance status.Methods: The primary source of data was the 2008–2013 household component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. We defined treated asthma as the presence of at least one medical or pharmaceutical encounter or claim associated wit...