How Common Is Asthma in Adults?

Nearly 23 million U.S. adults ages 18 and older have asthma. Asthma is more common in female adults than male adults. Around 11.0% of female adults have asthma, compared to 6.8% of male adults.²

Black adults have the highest rates of asthma in the United States. Also, Black adults have the highest rate of asthma attacks.²

What Are the Symptoms of Asthma in Adults?

Common signs and symptoms of asthma in adults include:

• Shortness of breath
• Cough
• Chest tightness or pain
• Wheeze (a whistling sound when you breathe)
• Waking at night due to asthma symptoms
• A drop in your peak flow meter reading (if you use one)
• Trouble doing physical activities

What Is Adult-Onset or Late-Onset Asthma?

You can develop asthma at any age. Experts aren’t exactly sure what causes adult-onset asthma (sometimes called late-onset asthma). But some conditions can put you at greater risk of getting it.

You may be more likely to get adult-onset asthma if you:

• Are female (due to hormonal changes or estrogen treatments)
• Have allergies and/or a strong family history of asthma
• Work in an environment with a lot of allergens, irritating chemicals, and particles in the air (occupational asthma)
• Are exposed to a high amount of air pollution (living in areas with poor air quality, such as exposure to exhaust fumes from highways)
• Smoke or vape
• Are overweight
• Have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Have had serious viral respiratory infections such as RSV or the flu

Two types of asthma are more common in adults than in children:

• Eosinophilic asthma
• Aspirin-sensitive asthma (aspirin exacerbated respiratory disease / AERD)

Some people have asthma as a child and then have their symptoms go away for years, only to come back later in life. This happens because children don’t really outgrow asthma. Asthma symptoms can go into remission (are reduced or go away) or change over time.

How Do Doctors Diagnose Asthma in Adults?

To diagnose asthma in an adult, a doctor will ask about your medical history and family history, do a physical exam, and do lung function tests. They may also do allergy tests since allergic asthma is common in adults. Typical allergens tested include pollen (tree, grass, weed), animal dander, dust mites, mold, and cockroaches.

What Is the Treatment for Asthma in Adults?

The treatment for asthma in adults involves:

1. Avoiding or reducing asthma triggers. To do this, you need to know what triggers your asthma and then take steps to manage your exposure to those triggers. Once you know your triggers, you can control or manage them. (Use AAFA’s Healthier Home Checklist to help you.) Triggers can include:

• Viral respiratory infections
• Exercise and physical activity
• Cold and dry air
• Big temperature and weather changes
• Allergens (like pet dander, dust mites, pollen)
• Strong odors, irritants, chemicals
• Smoke (wildfire, cooking, cigarettes, vaping)
• Medicines (such as aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors)
• Indoor and outdoor air pollution
• Strong emotions

2. Taking asthma medicines as prescribed. You may need to take medicines daily, as needed, or both. This will depend on how severe your asthma is and the type of medicine you use. Some asthma medicines work to control (or prevent) inflammation (swelling) in your airways. Other asthma medicines relieve the muscles that tighten and squeeze your airways and aim to stop symptoms after they begin. (Learn more about the different types of asthma medicines and how they work.)

3. Following an Asthma Action Plan. It’s important to know the signs and symptoms of asthma and when to take your medicines. An Asthma Action Plan can help you self-manage your asthma. Ask your doctor or health care provider to help you develop an effective Asthma Action Plan.

4. Taking care of your overall health. There are other medical conditions or illnesses that can make your asthma worse. To keep your asthma under control, you may need to take care of other parts of your health, too. Examples include ongoing and effective management of allergies and acid reflux.

When your asthma is under control, you can expect:

• Few or no symptoms
• No interruptions to your daily activities (school, work, exercise) or sleep
• Prevention of acute asthma attacks
• Less need for quick-relief medicines
• Improved overall quality of life

Sometimes adults have hard-to-control or severe asthma. Talk with your doctor about your asthma treatment plan if you continue to have symptoms that affect your daily activities or sleep despite using your current asthma therapies. Your doctor may need to review your asthma control and treatments to effectively manage your symptoms. In special situations, there are treatments known as biologics that treat moderate-persistent and severe asthma. They are given by injection.

What Is the Difference Between Asthma in Adults and Asthma in Children?

Asthma in adults is usually more persistent (occurs regularly). Symptoms in children may be intermittent (occurs sometimes) and can ease as they enter puberty.

Many asthma symptoms are the same in children and adults. Some signs and symptoms are more common in infants and young children than in adults. These include flaring nostrils, tiredness, and poor eating. Adults don’t usually have these types of symptoms.

Asthma is more common in male children than female children. Around 8.4% of male children have asthma, compared to 5.5% of female children.³ This switches in adulthood when asthma becomes more common in female adults than male adults.

Adults are 8 times more likely to die from asthma than children. Female adults are more likely to die from asthma than male adults.⁴

Adults can face unique challenges with asthma management that are not an issue for most children with asthma. For example, some heart medicines – such as beta blockers, aspirin, and ACE inhibitors – can affect how asthma medicines work or can cause asthma-like symptoms.