NIOSH

Asthma attack in the past 12 months: Estimated prevalence by industry and sex, U.S. working adults aged ≥18 years, NHIS 2004–2011

IndustryTotalMaleFemale
Estimated PopulationPrevalence (%)95% Confidence IntervalEstimated PopulationPrevalence (%)95% Confidence IntervalEstimated PopulationPrevalence (%)95% Confidence Interval
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting
Crop production 924,048 1.8* 0.7–2.9 726,887 1.8* 0.5–3.1 197,161 1.6* 0.2–3.1
Animal production 690,569 1.5* 0.5–2.6 507,138 1.2* 0.2–2.3 183,432 2.3* 0.4–4.3
Forestry and logging 177,302 † † 151,010 † † 26,292 † †
Fishing, hunting, and trapping 51,374 † † 47,290 † † 4,084 – –
Support activities for agriculture and forestry 161,977 † † 107,059 † † 54,918 – –
Mining
Oil and gas extraction 85,367 † † 72,861 † † 12,506 – –
Mining (except oil and gas) 189,292 † † 177,418 † † 11,874 – –
Support activities for mining 354,326 2.5* 0.1–4.9 304,334 † † 49,992 † †
Utilities 1,274,259 3.0 1.8–4.1 989,013 2.4 1.2–3.6 285,246 5.0* 1.9–8.0
Construction 10,262,670 1.9 1.6–2.3 9,369,189 1.7 1.4–2.1 893,480 4.1 2.3–5.9
Manufacturing
Food manufacturing 1,640,559 2.1 1.3–3.0 997,617 1.3 0.6–2.0 642,942 3.4 1.5–5.3
Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing 254,533 † † 196,578 † † 57,955 † †
Textile mills 153,257 – – 97,138 – – 56,119 – –
Textile product mills 182,064 † † 84,236 – – 97,828 † †
Apparel manufacturing 300,294 1.6* 0.3–3.0 111,434 † † 188,860 2.2* 0.2–4.2
Leather and allied product manufacturing 32,064 – – 17,590 – – 14,475 – –
Wood product manufacturing 496,446 1.9* 0.7–3.1 399,331 1.3* 0.1–2.4 97,116 4.5* 0.7–8.3
Paper manufacturing 420,021 1.4* 0.1–2.8 335,243 1.8* 0.1–3.5 84,778 – –
Printing and related support activities 661,067 3.0 1.7–4.4 452,135 1.7* 0.5–3.0 208,932 5.8 2.6–9.0
Petroleum and coal products manufacturing 145,545 † † 117,583 † † 27,963 † †
Chemical manufacturing 1,077,030 2.9 1.8–4.0 708,513 1.6* 0.7–2.6 368,517 5.3 2.7–7.9
Plastics and rubber products manufacturing 613,195 2.4* 0.9–3.8 429,467 2.0* 0.3–3.7 183,727 3.3* 0.6–6.0
Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing 427,148 2.0* 0.6–3.4 346,140 1.7* 0.3–3.1 81,008 † †
Primary metal manufacturing 582,546 2.6* 0.9–4.3 483,713 2.4* 0.7–4.1 98,834 † †
Fabricated metal product manufacturing 1,192,014 2.2 1.2–3.3 979,608 1.8 0.8–2.8 212,407 4.2* 1.1–7.3
Machinery manufacturing 1,180,864 1.8 1.0–2.6 930,384 1.4* 0.6–2.2 250,479 3.2* 0.8–5.7
Computer and electronic product manufacturing 1,184,677 2.6 1.4–3.8 806,672 2.7 1.1–4.3 378,005 2.4* 0.7–4.0
Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing 435,146 4.3* 0.3–8.4 290,146 † † 145,000 † †
Transportation equipment manufacturing 2,000,534 2.8 1.9–3.7 1,536,264 2.2 1.2–3.1 464,270 5.1 3.0–7.1
Furniture and related product manufacturing 569,204 1.5* 0.1–2.8 424,177 † † 145,027 † †
Miscellaneous manufacturing 1,129,782 2.5 1.5–3.5 673,713 2.2* 0.9–3.4 456,069 3.1 1.4–4.7
Wholesale Trade
Merchant wholesalers, durable goods 2,048,004 3.0 2.1–3.8 1,523,269 2.4 1.4–3.3 524,735 4.6 2.5–6.7
Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods 1,832,926 2.1 1.4–2.8 1,286,334 1.5 0.7–2.3 546,592 3.5 1.8–5.1
Non-specified wholesale trade 34,181 † † 23,623 † † 10,558 – –
Retail Trade
Motor vehicle and parts dealers 1,733,823 1.8 1.1–2.6 1,432,737 1.4 0.6–2.1 301,087 4.1* 1.6–6.6
Furniture and home furnishings stores 532,896 2.9 1.3–4.4 320,769 1.6* 0.3–2.8 212,127 4.8* 1.5–8.1
Electronics and appliance stores 590,657 4.4 1.8–6.9 429,832 3.5* 0.5–6.6 160,826 6.6* 2.1–11.2
Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers 1,229,338 2.7 1.5–3.9 840,127 1.1* 0.3–2.0 389,211 6.3 3.1–9.4
Food and beverage stores 2,705,058 3.3 2.4–4.1 1,301,426 2.2 1.2–3.1 1,403,632 4.3 3.0–5.6
Health and personal care stores 1,092,784 3.5 1.8–5.3 369,950 1.6* 0.2–3.0 722,834 4.6 2.0–7.1
Gasoline stations 446,793 3.3* 0.9–5.7 218,642 † † 228,152 3.9 1.7–6.1
Clothing and clothing accessories stores 1,061,561 3.4 2.0–4.9 332,145 † † 729,416 4.4 2.4–6.4
Sporting goods, camera, hobby, book and music stores 672,262 3.8 2.1–5.5 322,665 3.3* 1.2–5.5 349,598 4.3* 1.6–6.9
General merchandise stores 2,649,191 4.0 3.2–4.9 986,662 2.5* 0.9–4.0 1,662,529 4.9 3.8–6.1
Miscellaneous store retailers 1,037,743 4.7 3.0–6.3 376,854 5.8 2.7–8.9 660,890 4.0 2.1–5.9
Nonstore retailers and non-specified retail trade 780,124 3.5 2.0–5.1 406,769 2.1* 0.2–4.0 373,355 5.1 2.4–7.7
Transportation and Warehousing
Transportation (including support activities for transportation) 3,923,650 2.5 1.9–3.1 3,051,508 1.8 1.3–2.4 872,142 4.9 3.3–6.6
Postal service, couriers, and messengers 1,454,382 3.3 2.2–4.4 974,361 2.4 1.3–3.6 480,020 5.0 2.7–7.3
Warehousing and storage 392,667 1.5* 0.3–2.6 279,638 † † 113,028 † †
Information
Publishing (except internet) 767,347 4.1 2.3–5.8 406,801 2.3* 0.8–3.7 360,545 6.1 2.8–9.4
Motion picture and sound recording 395,611 2.3* 0.2–4.4 279,328 † † 116,283 3.5* 0.5–6.5
Broadcasting and telecommunications 1,895,924 4.8 3.5–6.1 1,210,028 3.5 2.1–4.9 685,896 6.9 4.3–9.6
Information services and data processing 293,045 3.5* 1.1–5.8 83,650 † † 209,395 4.3* 1.2–7.4
Finance and Insurance
Monetary authorities — central bank 1,791,062 3.4 2.3–4.5 617,792 3.1* 0.8–5.4 1,173,270 3.5 2.3–4.7
Credit intermediation and related activities 1,206,843 4.1 2.6–5.5 496,123 1.9 0.9–2.9 710,720 5.6 3.4–7.7
Securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments and related activities 1,085,603 3.0 1.8–4.2 639,104 2.2 1.0–3.4 446,499 4.0 1.8–6.3
Insurance carriers and related activities 2,379,017 3.4 2.5–4.3 968,483 1.3* 0.5–2.2 1,410,534 4.8 3.4–6.2
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
Real estate 2,396,385 2.4 1.7–3.1 1,246,657 1.5 0.7–2.3 1,149,728 3.4 2.2–4.6
Rental and leasing services 337,317 5.8* 1.9–9.7 220,784 † † 116,533 8.2* 0.9–15.6
Lessors of nonfinancial intangible assets (except copyrighted works) 155,180 † † 123,647 † † 31,533 – –
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 8,936,729 3.4 2.9–3.8 5,160,223 2.3 1.8–2.9 3,776,506 4.8 3.9–5.6
Management of Companies and Enterprises 101,065 † † 54,681 † † 46,385 – –
Administrative & Support and Waste Management & Remediation Services 5,790,053 3.4 2.9–4.0 3,542,042 2.2 1.6–2.8 2,248,012 5.4 4.4–6.4
Education Services 13,160,030 4.2 3.8–4.7 4,113,551 2.8 2.0–3.6 9,046,479 4.9 4.3–5.4
Health Care and Social Assistance
Ambulatory health care services 6,513,280 4.5 3.9–5.1 1,578,138 3.5 2.3–4.6 4,935,142 4.8 4.1–5.6
Hospitals 5,567,058 4.5 3.9–5.2 1,284,474 2.3 1.3–3.2 4,282,584 5.2 4.4–6.0
Nursing and residential care facilities 2,430,453 4.7 3.6–5.8 406,234 2.6* 0.2–5.0 2,024,219 5.1 4.0–6.3
Social assistance 3,062,737 4.7 3.8–5.6 435,932 3.2 1.3–5.0 2,626,806 4.9 4.0–5.9
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
Performing arts, spectator sports, and related industries 759,839 4.3 2.1–6.6 456,982 4.0* 0.7–7.4 302,857 4.8 2.1–7.4
Museums, historical sites, and similar institutions 351,698 † † 186,106 – – 165,592 † †
Amusement, gambling, and recreation 1,635,569 2.9 1.7–4.0 907,552 2.1* 0.7–3.4 728,017 3.8 1.8–5.9
Accommodation and Food Services
Accommodation 1,318,951 3.3 2.2–4.3 545,688 2.4* 0.9–3.9 773,263 3.9 2.3–5.5
Food services and drinking places 7,147,664 3.4 2.8–4.0 3,367,951 1.8 1.2–2.5 3,779,714 4.8 3.9–5.8
Other Services (except Public Administration)
Repair and maintenance 2,083,689 1.5 0.9–2.2 1,794,168 1.6 0.9–2.4 289,520 † †
Personal services (barber shops, beauty salons, nail salons, laundry, funeral homes and cemeteries) 1,997,487 3.3 2.3–4.3 581,967 1.3* 0.3–2.3 1,415,519 4.1 2.7–5.4
Religious, grantmaking, civic, labor, professional, and similar organizations 1,981,661 4.6 3.5–5.7 979,754 2.9 1.6–4.1 1,001,907 6.3 4.5–8.0
Private households 853,374 4.3 2.9–5.8 59,808 † † 793,566 4.6 3.0–6.1
Public Administration 6,944,968 3.2 2.7–3.7 3,776,184 2.0 1.5–2.5 3,168,785 4.6 3.8–5.5
Armed Forces 137,734 † † 89,520 † † 48,215 † †
Refused, Not Ascertained, Don’t Know 4,078,112 1.1 0.7–1.4 2,328,917 0.8 0.4–1.3 1,749,178 1.4 0.9–1.9
TOTAL 140,622,699 3.2 3.1–3.4 75,289,461 2.1 1.9–2.2 65,333,230 4.6 4.4–4.8

* Estimates with a relative standard error >30% and ≤50% are statistically unstable due to small sample size and should be used with caution as they do not meet the standards of reliability.

† Estimates with a relative standard error of >50% are suppressed.

– No estimates due to no cases or no respondents.

Note:

Numbers presented are average annual estimates for the period 2004–2011. Prevalence estimates are weighted and are not age-adjusted. Estimated totals may not add up due to rounding/suppression.

Asthma attack is defined as those who have ever been told by a doctor or other health professional that they had asthma and during the past 12 months had an episode of asthma or an asthma attack. Working adults are those who were employed in the week prior to the survey. Estimated populations represent current U.S. workers aged ≥18 years.

See Appendix for more details.

Source:

National Center for Health Statistics National Health Interview Surveys 2004 to 2011.

Citation:

NIOSH 2015. Work-Related Lung Disease Surveillance System (eWoRLD). 2015-874 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Respiratory Health Division, Morgantown, WV. Available at: <https://wwwn.cdc.gov/eWorld/Data/874> April 25, 2024.

Reference Number: 2015-874

Date Posted: October 2015

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Page last reviewed: October 23, 2015
Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)