Information on Asthma in New York State

Asthma is a chronic disease of the lungs that causes wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing. Asthma that is not well-controlled can greatly limit a person's quality of life. In 2021 an estimated 1.4 million adults and over 315,000 children had asthma. Exacerbations are impacted by factors that include severity and control status, access to care, medication adherence, and environmental factors.

This surveillance page presents information and data on asthma in New York State. State and County data previously provided on this page have incorporated into the New York State Asthma Control Program Data Dashboard and are displayed in enhanced, more interactive data views.

New York State Asthma Control Program Data Dashboard

The New York State (NYS) Asthma Dashboard provides a comprehensive view of asthma in the state and serves as a resource for policymakers, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders. The Dashboard is leveraged to guide strategic actions, target interventions to serve the highest risk individuals with asthma, support populations facing a disproportionate burden of asthma, and drive the expansion of evidence-based asthma interventions and policies supportive of asthma control. It is regularly accessed by internal and external partners to obtain current and historical data on populations with asthma including state, county, and sub-county level indicators with breakdowns for socio-economic factors for the total NYS population and the NYS Medicaid Managed Care population. New resources will be added often. Please check back frequently.

Asthma Burden Reports

This report was compiled in response to Article VII, Part MM in the SFY 2018-2019 State budget, which directed the New York State Department of Health to prepare a study of, and recommendations for, evidence-based interventions (EBIs) to address the high burden of asthma in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan. The report was developed by the Department’s Office of Public Health with contributions from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Based on iterative feedback and participation from a working group consisting of various stakeholders (e.g., governmental and academic professionals, and community-based organizations), collective decisions were made to 1) consider all five boroughs of NYC to ensure responsiveness to areas experiencing the highest burden of asthma, and 2) to use only existing data previously collected by NYC and NYS agencies due to limited time and resources dedicated for this project. The following report provides: 1) an overview of the burden of asthma statewide and in NYC neighborhoods; 2) a review of high-risk neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by asthma; 3) a review of the indoor and outdoor environmental triggers and allergens, and outdoor air quality; and 4) evidence-based and best practice recommendations for policies, strategies, and interventions supportive of asthma control.

Asthma Data to Action Reports

The Data to Action Reports are short communications that provide relevant asthma-related data to mobilize public health action. Each report includes a take home message, quick facts describing the problem, figure(s) illustrating the data, language describing national recommendations, and statements describing opportunities and suggested actions. Data used in the Data to Action Reports may come from the BRFSS, BRFSS Asthma Call-Back Survey, SPARCS, Vital Records, or other population-based surveillance data systems.

Archived New York State Asthma Summary Reports