Background: Asthma continues to impose a substantial chronic respiratory burden on the U.S. adult population, with outcomes shaped by a complex interplay of socioeconomic, demographic, and healthcare access factors. Objective: Characterizing how patterns of asthma exacerbation have shifted over time can guide targeted prevention efforts and more equitable approaches to care. Methods: This study utilized the 2019–2024 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) adult dataset from the National Center for Health Statistics. Adults who reported a prior physician diagnosis of asthma were eligible for inclusion. Annual prevalence of asthma attacks and temporal trends were examined across a broad range of sociodemographic, clinical, and socioeconomic variables using χ 2 testing; statistical significance was defined as a two-sided p <0.05. Results: Adults aged 50–64 years had the highest annual asthma attack rate (4.1%, p <0.05) and the greatest increase (+20%) during the study period. Females reported nearly twice the attacks as males (4.8% vs 2.3%, p <0.05) with an 18.2% rise since 2019. Black adults had higher attack prevalence (4.1%) compared to White (3.6%) and Asian (2.0%) adults; however, Asians experienced the largest increase (+84.6%) while Blacks declined (-15.9%). Individuals with disabilities (8.9% vs 3.1%), functional limitations (5.5% vs 2.1%), or unemployment (4.2% vs 3.3%, all p <0.05) were disproportionately affected. Among those Conclusion: Rates of asthma exacerbation are climbing among certain U.S. adult subpopulations, most notably women, middle-aged adults, Asian individuals, and those with private insurance coverage. Longstanding disparities by disability status, income level, and insurance type underscore the urgent need for targeted asthma control programs and systemic improvements in access to preventive respiratory care.
Ohm Tripathi (Wed,) studied this question.