NIOSH

Lifetime asthma: Estimated prevalence by current 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 1,927,608 9.9 8.1–11.7 1,446,962 9.0 7.0–10.9 480,646 12.6 8.8–16.5
Advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations, and sales managers 868,690 10.8 8.2–13.3 503,099 10.0 6.5–13.5 365,592 11.8 8.3–15.4
Operations specialties managers 2,327,185 11.4 9.8–13.1 1,377,734 10.4 8.3–12.4 949,451 13.0 10.0–16.0
Other management occupations 7,993,986 10.7 9.8–11.6 4,979,641 9.9 8.8–10.9 3,014,345 12.0 10.7–13.4
Business and Financial Operations
Business operations specialists 2,940,295 12.6 11.0–14.1 1,328,368 10.2 8.2–12.2 1,611,926 14.5 12.4–16.7
Financial specialists 3,011,686 10.3 8.9–11.6 1,410,666 9.4 7.5–11.4 1,601,019 11.0 9.3–12.8
Computer and Mathematical
Computer specialists 3,544,647 12.5 11.0–14.1 2,685,799 11.7 9.9–13.6 858,848 15.0 12.2–17.9
Mathematical science occupations 172,419 10.1 4.9–15.4 81,215 9.2* 2.6–15.8 91,204 11.0* 3.2–18.7
Architecture and Engineering
Architects, surveyors, and cartographers 216,970 6.8* 2.3–11.2 171,131 4.2* 0.8–7.6 45,840 16.2* 1.3–31.1
Engineers 1,802,613 10.1 8.4–11.8 1,559,810 9.4 7.5–11.2 242,803 15.2 9.8–20.6
Drafters, engineering, and mapping technicians 663,542 8.8 5.4–12.2 568,220 8.4 4.7–12.2 95,322 11.2 4.6–17.7
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Life scientists 335,620 10.8 6.6–15.0 179,235 10.0 4.5–15.5 156,385 11.8 6.3–17.2
Physical scientists 313,641 13.1 8.7–17.5 220,287 11.3 6.6–16.0 93,354 17.3 7.9–26.7
Social scientists and related workers 444,430 13.3 9.5–17.0 165,141 14.6 8.3–21.0 279,289 12.4 8.2–16.7
Life, physical, and social science technicians 290,357 11.8 6.8–16.9 164,287 10.0* 3.0–17.0 126,070 14.2 6.8–21.7
Community and Social Services
Counselors, social workers, and other community and social service specialists 1,762,430 14.4 12.5–16.4 492,189 12.1 8.4–15.8 1,270,241 15.3 13.0–17.7
Religious workers 552,514 10.9 7.7–14.0 412,844 11.2 7.5–14.9 139,670 9.8 4.3–15.2
Legal
Lawyers, judges, and related workers 1,000,999 12.2 9.6–14.8 668,231 11.2 8.0–14.4 332,768 14.2 9.8–18.6
Legal support workers 631,846 12.7 9.3–16.2 123,882 7.5* 1.9–13.1 507,964 14.0 9.9–18.0
Education, Training, and Library
Postsecondary teachers 1,382,364 13.4 11.2–15.6 710,401 12.3 9.4–15.3 671,963 14.5 11.5–17.5
Primary, secondary, and special education school teachers 5,359,338 12.8 11.7–13.9 1,160,093 11.5 9.2–13.8 4,199,245 13.1 11.8–14.4
Other teachers and instructors 748,733 14.2 11.3–17.1 273,196 11.6 6.9–16.3 475,536 15.7 11.8–19.6
Librarians, curators, and archivists 305,126 11.1 6.9–15.2 59,122 5.3* 0.1–10.4 246,004 12.5 7.5–17.4
Other education, training, and library occupations 1,038,411 13.5 10.7–16.3 92,679 18.0 7.9–28.1 945,732 13.1 10.2–15.9
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Art and design workers 1,017,139 10.4 8.0–12.7 523,165 9.1 5.9–12.3 493,974 11.8 8.4–15.1
Entertainers and performers, sports and related workers 604,323 13.0 9.4–16.6 376,346 10.2 6.6–13.8 227,977 17.6 10.5–24.6
Media and communication workers 782,327 14.0 11.0–17.0 343,935 11.4 7.3–15.4 438,392 16.1 11.8–20.5
Media and communication equipment workers 280,372 15.9 9.7–22.1 208,463 16.6 9.6–23.5 71,908 14.0* 4.0–24.0
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Health diagnosing and treating practitioners 4,897,322 11.6 10.4–12.7 1,291,751 10.3 8.1–12.5 3,605,570 12.0 10.7–13.3
Health technologists and technicians 2,172,271 11.5 9.8–13.2 472,806 8.3 5.5–11.0 1,699,464 12.4 10.4–14.4
Other healthcare practitioners and technical 61,085 10.6* 2.5–18.7 45,843 † † 15,242 25.1* 2.1–48.0
Healthcare Support
Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides 1,926,438 14.6 12.6–16.7 244,511 16.6 9.8–23.4 1,681,927 14.3 12.2–16.5
Occupational and physical therapist assistants and aides 65,984 18.1* 6.0–30.2 15,326 – – 50,658 23.6* 8.4–38.7
Other healthcare support occupations 1,115,186 11.6 9.2–13.9 128,785 12.9* 4.0–21.8 986,401 11.4 9.1–13.7
Protective Service
First-line supervisors/managers, protective service workers 262,702 16.8 10.2–23.4 220,543 15.4 8.3–22.5 42,159 24.1* 7.3–40.9
Fire fighting and prevention workers 266,459 12.8 6.7–19.0 253,302 13.5 7.0–19.9 13,157 – –
Law enforcement workers 1,185,897 10.3 7.9–12.8 937,339 9.0 6.3–11.7 248,559 15.4 10.1–20.7
Other protective service workers 1,048,444 12.9 10.4–15.4 755,445 10.2 7.4–13.0 292,999 19.8 14.3–25.4
Food Preparation and Serving Related
Supervisors, food preparation, and serving workers 903,016 11.5 8.8–14.2 479,182 9.1 5.7–12.5 423,834 14.2 9.9–18.4
Cooks and food preparation workers 2,559,283 10.9 9.2–12.6 1,321,794 11.6 9.0–14.3 1,237,489 10.2 8.1–12.2
Food and beverage serving working 2,837,956 12.7 11.0–14.4 870,079 12.4 8.9–16.0 1,967,876 12.9 10.8–14.9
Other food preparation and serving related workers 720,156 10.1 7.4–12.8 363,119 7.9 4.7–11.1 357,037 12.4 8.1–16.6
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Supervisors, building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers 485,342 10.6 6.8–14.3 363,801 9.2 5.0–13.4 121,540 14.5 6.5–22.5
Building cleaning and pest control workers 3,800,520 9.1 7.9–10.3 1,752,648 8.1 6.5–9.6 2,047,873 9.9 8.3–11.5
Grounds maintenance workers 1,240,927 5.6 3.8–7.4 1,160,354 5.3 3.5–7.2 80,573 9.9* 2.8–17.0
Personal Care and Service
Supervisors, personal care and service workers 137,365 6.0* 1.7–10.2 47,816 † † 89,549 6.2* 0.3–12.1
Animal care and service workers 230,943 11.2 5.2–17.2 61,217 17.7* 1.5–33.8 169,726 8.9 3.8–13.9
Entertainment attendants and related workers 295,347 11.6 6.4–16.9 175,492 12.4* 4.9–20.0 119,855 10.5* 4.3–16.7
Funeral service workers 18,302 † † 10,919 † † 7,383 – –
Personal appearance workers 987,662 11.8 9.2–14.4 151,273 8.4* 2.8–14.0 836,389 12.4 9.5–15.3
Transportation, tourism, and lodging attendants 165,716 9.8 4.7–14.9 85,786 10.5* 2.1–18.8 79,931 9.1* 3.3–15.0
Other personal care and service workers 2,537,857 14.3 12.5–16.0 360,510 13.8 8.2–19.3 2,177,347 14.4 12.5–16.2
Sales and Related
Supervisors, sales workers 3,746,809 9.0 7.9–10.1 2,242,090 7.2 5.9–8.6 1,504,718 11.6 9.6–13.6
Retail sales workers 6,039,314 12.2 11.1–13.3 2,417,699 10.2 8.4–12.1 3,621,616 13.5 12.0–14.9
Sales representatives, services 1,799,932 10.6 8.9–12.3 1,120,115 9.5 7.3–11.7 679,817 12.4 9.7–15.2
Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing 1,306,521 10.3 8.0–12.6 947,455 9.9 7.4–12.5 359,066 11.4 7.4–15.3
Other sales and related workers 1,624,040 11.9 10.0–13.8 745,757 9.8 7.0–12.6 878,284 13.7 11.2–16.2
Office and Administrative Support
Supervisors, office and administrative support workers 1,328,656 12.2 10.1–14.4 414,898 12.2 8.0–16.5 913,758 12.2 9.8–14.6
Communications equipment operators 87,885 15.5* 6.3–24.7 13,208 † † 74,677 17.4* 6.8–27.9
Financial clerks 2,835,963 12.2 10.5–13.9 356,882 9.8 5.4–14.2 2,479,081 12.5 10.7–14.4
Information and record clerks 4,684,721 12.9 11.5–14.2 1,148,430 13.0 9.9–16.0 3,536,291 12.9 11.5–14.3
Material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers 3,512,558 11.9 10.5–13.3 2,176,109 11.0 9.1–12.9 1,336,449 13.4 11.3–15.5
Secretaries and administrative assistants 2,935,663 11.4 10.0–12.9 132,242 12.6 6.4–18.8 2,803,421 11.4 9.9–12.9
Other office and administrative support workers 2,943,826 11.3 10.0–12.7 641,833 9.1 6.2–12.0 2,301,993 12.0 10.5–13.5
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
Supervisors, farming, fishing, and forestry workers 69,971 † † 62,571 † † 7,400 † †
Agricultural workers 785,838 4.8 3.1–6.5 587,594 4.5 2.3–6.6 198,244 5.7 2.9–8.5
Fishing and hunting workers 36,715 16.0* 2.5–29.4 35,215 16.6* 2.7–30.6 † nc nc
Forest, conservation, and logging workers 81,769 8.0* 1.2–14.7 79,832 8.2* 1.3–15.0 † nc nc
Construction and Extraction
Supervisors, construction and extraction workers 816,335 8.0 5.5–10.5 792,164 8.1 5.5–10.6 24,171 † †
Construction trades workers 6,764,392 7.4 6.6–8.3 6,608,936 7.4 6.5–8.2 155,456 10.4 4.3–16.5
Helpers, construction trades 77,243 17.3* 5.3–29.3 73,010 18.3* 5.6–30.9 4,233 – –
Other construction and related workers 398,196 9.8 6.2–13.5 381,602 10.1 6.3–13.9 16,595 † †
Extraction workers 159,247 9.6 4.9–14.4 159,247 9.6 4.9–14.4 – nc nc
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair
Supervisors of installation, maintenance, and repair workers 325,375 11.2 7.0–15.4 300,774 10.2 5.9–14.5 24,601 23.5* 4.7–42.3
Electrical and electronic equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers 795,540 9.9 7.1–12.7 720,306 9.6 6.6–12.6 75,234 13.0* 5.3–20.6
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers 1,843,250 8.2 6.4–9.9 1,815,923 8.2 6.5–10.0 27,328 † †
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations 2,114,534 7.8 6.3–9.3 2,035,538 7.8 6.3–9.3 78,996 7.8* 1.6–14.0
Production
Supervisors, production workers 790,729 8.5 6.0–10.9 633,462 8.0 5.2–10.8 157,268 10.3 5.4–15.2
Assemblers and fabricators 1,315,281 7.4 5.7–9.0 794,013 6.5 4.5–8.5 521,268 8.7 5.9–11.5
Food processing workers 568,778 12.0 8.2–15.7 340,731 9.0 4.1–13.9 228,047 16.4 9.7–23.1
Metal workers and plastic workers 1,783,989 6.9 5.4–8.4 1,552,000 6.4 4.9–7.9 231,989 10.3 4.6–16.1
Printing workers 345,182 8.2 5.0–11.4 260,861 6.6 3.5–9.6 84,321 13.2* 4.9–21.6
Textile, apparel, and furnishings workers 700,651 7.1 4.8–9.4 246,374 5.3* 1.2–9.5 454,277 8.0 5.3–10.7
Woodworkers 203,840 5.5* 1.6–9.5 178,262 4.8* 0.8–8.8 25,578 † †
Plant and system operators 237,382 9.0 4.1–13.8 229,765 9.2 4.3–14.2 7,618 – –
Other production occupations 2,983,210 9.1 7.7–10.5 1,974,674 7.6 6.1–9.1 1,008,536 11.9 9.2–14.6
Transportation and Material Moving
Supervisors, transportation and material moving workers 185,811 10.4 5.2–15.5 150,416 7.6* 2.6–12.6 35,395 22.2* 5.6–38.8
Air transportation workers 174,857 4.7* 0.9–8.6 147,418 † † 27,440 16.3* 2.5–30.0
Motor vehicle operators 4,033,416 9.3 8.2–10.4 3,450,888 8.4 7.2–9.5 582,527 14.7 11.2–18.3
Rail transportation workers 105,462 12.8* 3.4–22.2 102,476 11.7* 2.4–21.0 † nc nc
Water transportation workers 35,150 13.3* 0.4–26.2 32,881 † † † nc nc
Other transportation workers 248,535 11.8 6.0–17.6 203,650 12.0 5.3–18.6 44,885 11.1* 0.3–21.9
Material moving workers 3,284,193 8.4 7.1–9.7 2,632,242 8.0 6.6–9.4 651,951 9.9 6.2–13.6
Millitary 142,167 12.4 5.2–19.7 93,952 9.1* 1.6–16.5 48,215 19.0* 3.4–34.7
Refused, Not Ascertained, Don’t Know 4,127,986 4.7 3.9–5.4 2,400,193 4.3 3.2–5.3 1,727,794 5.2 4.0–6.4
TOTAL 140,622,691 10.7 10.4–10.9 75,289,461 9.1 8.8–9.4 65,333,230 12.5 12.1–12.8

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. 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). 2015-886 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/886> April 25, 2024.

Reference Number: 2015-886

Date Posted: October 2015

Data Formats

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