On kidsdata.org, estimates of childhood asthma prevalence are derived from reports of children ages 1-17 who have ever been diagnosed with asthma. Asthma hospitalizations—which reflect the most severe asthmatic episodes—also are provided for children ages 0-17, by age group.

Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases among children in the U.S. and a leading cause of hospitalizations and absences from school (1, 2). Asthma rates vary by region, demographics, environment, physician diagnostic practices, and access to care. Although identifying the impact of independent risk factors for asthma is difficult, low-income and minority children are at disproportionately high risk for severe symptoms, missed school days, and emergency room visits due to asthma (1, 2, 3).

Asthma sufferers often manage symptoms with medication, trigger avoidance, and regular medical monitoring (1, 2). However, children who face cost barriers to medication or treatment are less likely to have well-controlled asthma than children with access to regular medical care, and may repeatedly be absent from school when their asthma flares up (1, 2, 3).

In 2015-2016, an estimated 15% of California children ages 1-17 had been diagnosed with asthma at some point in their lives, similar to estimates from previous years. While asthma does not result in hospitalization for most children, there were 8,460 hospitalizations for asthma among children 0-17 statewide in 2017, a rate of 9.2 hospitalizations per 10,000 children. Among counties with data, childhood asthma hospitalization rates ranged from 4.4 per 10,000 (Santa Barbara) to 16 per 10,000 (Fresno). Statewide, rates of asthma hospitalization are higher for children ages 0-4 (16.6 per 10,000 in 2017) than for older children ages 5-17 (6.5 per 10,000 in 2017).

While asthma can be debilitating, even life-threatening, it usually is a controllable disease. Asthma can be triggered by environmental conditions such as outdoor air pollution, tobacco smoke, and poor indoor air quality, as well as by other causes such as viral infections and exercise (1). State, local, and school policies that reduce asthma triggers and that facilitate effective management and treatment of asthma can have positive effects on asthma rates and other health outcomes.

Policy options that could influence asthma rates, treatment, and health consequences include:

• Ensuring that all children have adequate, accessible, and affordable health care and insurance coverage for effective prevention and treatment of asthma, which includes coverage for asthma medications and supplies (2)
• Enforcing laws and regulations that limit air pollution from vehicles, agricultural and industrial practices, and other sources (1, 3)
• Strengthening school policies that educate students, staff, and parents on asthma care, improve indoor air quality, make it easy for students to manage their asthma at school, and facilitate communication and record sharing among families, schools, and health care providers (1, 4)
• Promoting community-wide, integrated interventions that decrease the burden of asthma on high-risk populations, including outreach and education, home visiting, and reduction of asthma triggers in homes, schools, child care centers, and workplaces (1, 2)
• Funding tobacco control efforts, including restricting access to cigarettes, increasing the availability and use of smoking cessation programs, and limiting smoking in multi-unit housing, as smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke harms lung function and can increase asthmatic symptoms (2, 5)