NIOSH

Lifetime asthma: Estimated prevalence among non-smokers by occupation and sex, U.S. working adults aged ≥18 years, NHIS 2004–2011

OccupationTotalMaleFemale
Estimated PopulationPrevalence (%)95% Confidence IntervalEstimated PopulationPrevalence (%)95% Confidence IntervalEstimated PopulationPrevalence (%)95% Confidence Interval
Management
Chief executives; general and operations managers; legislators 1,166,255 9.9 7.5–12.4 849,133 9.3 6.7–11.9 317,122 11.6 6.7–16.5
Advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations, and sales managers 580,897 11.5 8.4–14.6 337,991 10.4 5.8–15.0 242,907 13.1 9.1–17.0
Operations specialties managers 1,425,648 10.6 8.5–12.6 852,240 9.9 7.2–12.7 573,408 11.5 8.2–14.7
Other management occupations 4,790,888 10.4 9.3–11.5 2,899,947 9.7 8.3–11.0 1,890,942 11.5 9.9–13.2
Business and Financial Operations
Business operations specialists 1,780,492 12.6 10.6–14.5 768,763 11.0 8.3–13.6 1,011,729 13.7 11.2–16.3
Financial specialists 2,001,380 9.8 8.1–11.4 958,941 9.2 6.9–11.6 1,042,440 10.3 8.1–12.5
Computer and Mathematical
Computer specialists 2,403,106 12.9 10.9–14.8 1,792,569 12.2 9.8–14.6 610,537 14.8 11.5–18.1
Mathematical science occupations 117,296 9.3* 2.8–15.9 57,790 † † 59,506 12.8* 2.2–23.4
Architecture and Engineering
Architects, surveyors, and cartographers 142,743 7.7* 2.0–13.4 108,742 † † 34,001 21.9* 2.6–41.1
Engineers 1,244,888 9.6 7.6–11.7 1,048,809 8.5 6.4–10.5 196,079 16.0 9.3–22.6
Drafters, engineering, and mapping technicians 340,449 6.9 4.1–9.8 272,232 5.7 2.8–8.6 68,217 11.8* 4.1–19.5
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Life scientists 226,482 11.2 6.0–16.4 107,958 11.9* 4.0–19.8 118,524 10.6 4.7–16.6
Physical scientists 221,192 13.3 8.1–18.5 158,870 11.3 5.8–16.9 62,322 18.5* 7.2–29.7
Social scientists and related workers 288,997 11.8 7.3–16.2 103,826 11.4* 3.8–19.0 185,171 12.0 6.8–17.2
Life, physical, and social science technicians 181,411 12.4 5.7–19.0 91,163 12.9* 2.0–23.8 90,249 11.8* 4.6–19.1
Community and Social Services
Counselors, social workers, and other community and social service specialists 1,132,432 13.4 11.0–15.8 304,468 10.5 5.7–15.3 827,965 14.4 11.7–17.2
Religious workers 424,867 11.4 7.8–15.0 313,710 11.4 7.2–15.6 111,157 11.4 4.8–18.1
Legal
Lawyers, judges, and related workers 698,467 11.6 8.5–14.8 471,334 10.0 6.1–13.8 227,132 15.1 9.6–20.6
Legal support workers 396,371 10.2 6.4–14.0 69,317 † † 327,054 11.0 6.7–15.2
Education, Training, and Library
Postsecondary teachers 1,007,404 13.8 11.0–16.6 510,216 12.1 8.3–15.8 497,189 15.5 11.9–19.2
Primary, secondary, and special education school teachers 4,125,831 12.5 11.2–13.8 867,175 11.7 8.9–14.6 3,258,656 12.7 11.3–14.2
Other teachers and instructors 513,366 15.2 11.5–18.8 170,204 15.5 8.3–22.6 343,162 15.0 10.6–19.4
Librarians, curators, and archivists 217,494 9.8 4.9–14.7 37,998 – – 179,496 11.9 6.1–17.7
Other education, training, and library occupations 721,079 13.5 10.0–16.9 60,480 16.6* 5.0–28.1 660,599 13.2 9.6–16.8
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Art and design workers 599,881 10.9 7.9–14.0 297,720 10.2 5.8–14.6 302,161 11.7 7.6–15.7
Entertainers and performers, sports and related workers 396,517 11.8 7.4–16.3 240,468 7.6 3.8–11.4 156,050 18.4 9.3–27.4
Media and communication workers 520,617 13.6 10.3–16.8 207,683 10.9 6.3–15.5 312,934 15.4 10.9–19.8
Media and communication equipment workers 174,853 16.1 8.7–23.5 136,557 16.0 7.1–24.9 38,296 16.4* 4.5–28.3
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Health diagnosing and treating practitioners 3,494,467 11.4 10.1–12.8 953,525 11.5 8.8–14.2 2,540,941 11.4 9.9–12.9
Health technologists and technicians 1,381,522 10.2 8.3–12.1 297,728 7.9 4.5–11.4 1,083,794 10.8 8.5–13.1
Other healthcare practitioners and technical 40,669 16.0* 4.0–27.9 30,453 † † 10,216 37.4* 4.8–70.0
Healthcare Support
Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides 1,099,643 11.8 9.2–14.3 139,158 16.4* 6.5–26.4 960,485 11.1 8.6–13.5
Occupational and physical therapist assistants and aides 47,606 25.1 9.3–40.8 11,237 – – 36,369 32.8 14.1–51.6
Other healthcare support occupations 715,413 12.3 9.2–15.3 80,220 18.2* 4.8–31.6 635,193 11.5 8.6–14.5
Protective Service
First-line supervisors/managers, protective service workers 145,539 16.8 7.1–26.5 125,796 14.7* 4.3–25.1 19,743 30.2* 5.2–55.1
Fire fighting and prevention workers 186,505 13.0 6.2–19.9 178,780 13.6 6.5–20.7 7,725 – –
Law enforcement workers 770,501 11.4 8.1–14.6 616,461 9.8 6.3–13.4 154,040 17.5 10.0–25.0
Other protective service workers 593,110 13.4 9.6–17.2 415,490 11.1 7.0–15.1 177,620 18.8 10.5–27.2
Food Preparation and Serving Related
Supervisors, food preparation, and serving workers 457,639 9.5 6.0–13.1 223,794 7.5* 2.7–12.3 233,845 11.5 6.4–16.6
Cooks and food preparation workers 1,458,346 9.6 7.6–11.6 679,900 9.4 6.3–12.5 778,445 9.8 7.1–12.4
Food and beverage serving working 1,455,086 11.9 9.4–14.4 438,913 13.2 7.9–18.4 1,016,173 11.3 8.4–14.2
Other food preparation and serving related workers 472,093 10.3 6.8–13.7 206,450 5.5* 2.2–8.8 265,643 14.0 8.7–19.3
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Supervisors, building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers 246,880 9.4 4.4–14.4 185,159 9.9* 3.7–16.1 61,721 8.0* 0.2–15.8
Building cleaning and pest control workers 2,288,425 7.9 6.4–9.4 931,908 7.6 5.2–10.0 1,356,518 8.1 6.3–9.9
Grounds maintenance workers 656,885 3.0 1.4–4.6 624,230 2.7 1.1–4.3 32,655 † †
Personal Care and Service
Supervisors, personal care and service workers 73,907 6.6* 1.0–12.1 27,836 † † 46,070 † †
Animal care and service workers 128,418 13.4* 4.0–22.9 32,836 28.7* 1.1–56.2 95,582 8.2* 1.3–15.1
Entertainment attendants and related workers 182,944 10.0 4.3–15.8 94,558 9.1* 0.9–17.3 88,386 11.0* 2.9–19.0
Funeral service workers 10,586 – – † nc nc † nc nc
Personal appearance workers 561,519 10.3 7.2–13.3 82,335 11.2* 1.9–20.6 479,184 10.1 6.9–13.3
Transportation, tourism, and lodging attendants 94,195 6.7* 1.0–12.4 45,321 † † 48,874 8.9* 1.0–16.7
Other personal care and service workers 1,665,432 12.3 10.3–14.4 242,946 12.4 5.3–19.4 1,422,486 12.3 10.2–14.4
Sales and Related
Supervisors, sales workers 2,077,904 9.0 7.4–10.6 1,192,817 7.2 5.4–9.1 885,087 11.4 8.7–14.0
Retail sales workers 3,668,793 11.2 9.9–12.6 1,381,916 10.1 7.8–12.4 2,286,877 11.9 10.2–13.6
Sales representatives, services 1,055,719 11.4 9.1–13.7 645,839 9.8 6.9–12.7 409,880 14.0 10.2–17.7
Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing 802,710 10.1 7.0–13.2 567,287 9.4 5.8–13.0 235,424 11.8 6.9–16.8
Other sales and related workers 924,797 12.5 9.8–15.2 394,863 11.3 6.7–15.9 529,933 13.3 10.1–16.6
Office and Administrative Support
Supervisors, office and administrative support workers 761,516 11.4 8.6–14.1 223,711 15.6 9.7–21.6 537,805 9.6 6.7–12.5
Communications equipment operators 53,166 12.7* 2.3–23.0 8,809 † † 44,356 13.7* 1.8–25.7
Financial clerks 1,750,760 11.5 9.4–13.7 213,303 10.0 4.6–15.4 1,537,457 11.8 9.5–14.0
Information and record clerks 2,906,903 12.3 10.7–14.0 679,805 13.8 9.8–17.9 2,227,097 11.9 10.2–13.5
Material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers 1,999,160 11.8 9.9–13.8 1,243,503 11.6 9.1–14.2 755,657 12.1 9.3–14.9
Secretaries and administrative assistants 1,840,380 11.3 9.5–13.0 74,603 10.8* 3.3–18.4 1,765,776 11.3 9.5–13.1
Other office and administrative support workers 1,943,406 10.6 8.9–12.2 408,818 7.7 4.4–10.9 1,534,588 11.3 9.5–13.2
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
Supervisors, farming, fishing, and forestry workers 41,057 † † 35,884 † † 5,173 † †
Agricultural workers 514,369 3.1 1.4–4.8 359,076 3.1* 0.9–5.3 155,293 3.1* 0.8–5.4
Fishing and hunting workers 10,762 † † 9,679 † † † nc nc
Forest, conservation, and logging workers 42,374 † † 40,437 † † † nc nc
Construction and Extraction
Supervisors, construction and extraction workers 370,404 8.2 4.4–12.0 357,314 8.1 4.2–12.1 13,090 † †
Construction trades workers 3,106,351 7.1 5.7–8.5 3,037,825 7.0 5.6–8.4 68,525 11.4* 1.4–21.5
Helpers, construction trades 29,956 † † 27,105 † † 2,851 – –
Other construction and related workers 205,989 8.4 3.7–13.1 194,260 8.7 3.8–13.6 11,729 † †
Extraction workers 67,588 10.3* 1.0–19.5 67,588 10.3* 1.0–19.5 – nc nc
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair
Supervisors of installation, maintenance, and repair workers 144,599 8.7* 3.1–14.4 132,689 8.4* 2.6–14.3 11,910 † †
Electrical and electronic equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers 402,424 10.3 6.6–14.1 366,683 10.9 6.8–15.0 35,741 † †
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers 869,070 8.6 6.0–11.3 853,965 8.8 6.1–11.5 15,105 – –
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations 908,966 8.7 6.5–10.9 867,519 9.1 6.8–11.4 41,447 – –
Production
Supervisors, production workers 359,590 5.6 2.7–8.4 272,150 5.8* 2.3–9.3 87,440 4.8* 0.7–9.0
Assemblers and fabricators 706,543 6.9 4.6–9.3 408,626 6.6 3.8–9.4 297,917 7.3 3.9–10.8
Food processing workers 325,984 9.6 4.9–14.3 190,969 6.9* 1.1–12.6 135,014 13.4* 4.7–22.2
Metal workers and plastic workers 779,263 6.3 4.0–8.5 650,235 4.6 2.5–6.7 129,028 14.5* 5.2–23.9
Printing workers 155,787 8.6 4.1–13.1 110,948 7.3* 2.4–12.2 44,839 11.8* 2.7–21.0
Textile, apparel, and furnishings workers 435,284 6.6 3.6–9.6 126,856 † † 308,428 7.1 4.0–10.2
Woodworkers 101,953 6.8* 0.2–13.3 87,599 † † 14,354 † †
Plant and system operators 103,237 6.7* 1.5–11.9 98,304 7.0* 1.6–12.5 † nc nc
Other production occupations 1,570,159 8.0 6.0–10.0 971,855 6.4 4.6–8.2 598,304 10.6 6.9–14.2
Transportation and Material Moving
Supervisors, transportation and material moving workers 84,072 11.9* 4.4–19.4 72,305 9.2* 1.6–16.8 11,767 28.3* 5.1–51.5
Air transportation workers 118,122 † † 102,802 † † 15,320 † †
Motor vehicle operators 1,809,837 9.1 7.4–10.9 1,505,365 7.7 5.9–9.5 304,472 16.1 10.8–21.4
Rail transportation workers 57,153 † † 56,729 † † † nc nc
Water transportation workers 13,033 † † 12,195 † † † nc nc
Other transportation workers 114,576 11.7* 2.8–20.6 94,740 12.9* 2.4–23.5 19,836 † †
Material moving workers 1,742,338 7.7 6.0–9.5 1,337,309 7.7 5.8–9.6 405,029 8.0 3.4–12.6
Millitary 84,765 10.4* 3.0–17.7 54,462 † † 30,303 † †
Refused, Not Ascertained, Don’t Know 2,810,483 4.4 3.5–5.3 1,546,656 3.5 2.3–4.8 1,263,833 5.4 4.0–6.8
TOTAL 83,939,935 10.3 10.1–10.6 41,850,503 9.0 8.7–9.4 42,089,432 11.6 11.3–12.0

nc - not calculated

* Estimates with a relative standard error of >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.

Life time asthma is defined as those who have ever been told by a doctor or other health professional that they had asthma. Non-smokers are those who had never smoked or those who smoked <100 cigarettes during their entire life. 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). 2015-889 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/889> April 24, 2024.

Reference Number: 2015-889

Date Posted: October 2015

Data Formats

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