Table 8_3_1-2

2008 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports

The National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR) is a comprehensive national overview of quality of health care in the United States. It is organized around four dimensions of quality of care: effectiveness, patient safety, timeliness, and patient centeredness.

Table 8_3_1.2
People with current asthma who are now taking preventive medicine daily or almost daily (either oral or inhaler), United States, 2003
Population group		Total population (in thousands)^d	Current asthma		Taking preventive medication^e
Population group		Total population (in thousands)^d	Percent	SE	Percent	SE
Total		290,604	6.8	0.2	30.1	1.3
Age	0–17	72,379	8.0	0.4	28.5	2.4
	18–44	110,646	6.0	0.3	21.4	1.9
	45–64	69,659	6.7	0.3	38.7	2.7
	65 and over	35,450	6.8	0.5	42.0	3.8
Gender	Male	142,265	5.7	0.2	31.1	2.0
Gender	Female	148,340	7.8	0.3	29.4	1.6
Race	White, single race	235,232	6.5	0.2	30.4	1.5
	Black, single race	36,090	8.5	0.6	29.4	2.7
	Asian, single race	11,886	3.9	0.6	*	*
	NHOPI, single race	881	*	*	*	*
	AI/AN, single race	2,095	*	*	*	*
	Multiple races	4,420	11.8	1.7	*	*
Ethnicity	Non-Hispanic, all races	249,909	7.0	0.2	30.3	1.3
	Non-Hispanic, White	196,304	6.8	0.3	30.8	1.6
	Non-Hispanic, Black	35,278	8.6	0.6	29.2	2.6
	Hispanic	40,696	5.1	0.4	28.0	3.3
Family income^a	Negative/poor	36,827	9.7	0.6	26.0	2.3
	Near poor/low	53,950	7.5	0.5	26.5	2.3
	Middle	90,163	6.6	0.4	29.2	2.4
	High	109,664	5.5	0.3	35.7	2.4
Education,^b age 18 and over	Less than high school	44,872	7.1	0.4	25.4	2.6
	High school graduate	69,728	5.7	0.3	29.4	2.9
	At least some college	102,184	6.5	0.3	34.1	2.3
Employment status, ages 18–64	Employed	143,669	5.7	0.3	26.5	1.9
Employment status, ages 18–64	Not employed	39,032	8.6	0.5	33.3	2.9
Health insurance, under age 65	Any private	181,476	6.3	0.3	30.8	1.8
	Public only	36,748	10.7	0.6	28.6	2.1
	Uninsured	34,460	5.1	0.4	12.8	2.6
Health insurance, age 65 and over	Medicare only	9,885	5.9	0.9	*	*
	Medicare and private	21,198	6.7	0.7	44.1	4.9
	Medicare and other public	3,884	9.3	1.5	*	*
Residence location^c	Metropolitan	244,216	6.7	0.2	29.9	1.4
	Large central metro	87,418	6.8	0.4	26.8	2.4
	Large fringe metro	71,947	6.0	0.4	32.2	2.8
	Medium metro	59,119	6.9	0.6	30.9	2.6
	Small metro	25,732	8.2	0.7	32.3	3.9
	Nonmetropolitan	46,389	6.9	0.5	30.9	3.0
	Micropolitan	30,725	6.9	0.7	29.7	3.9
	Noncore	15,663	6.9	0.7	33.2	3.6
Language spoken most often at home	English	253,382	7.3	0.2	29.9	1.3
Language spoken most often at home	Other	33,778	3.3	0.3	32.8	5.0
Perceived health status	Excellent/very good/good	259,009	6.0	0.2	27.4	1.5
Perceived health status	Fair/poor	31,000	13.8	0.6	40.3	2.6
Activity limitations^c	Basic activities	28,740	11.6	0.6	37.2	2.9
	Complex activities	17,609	12.2	0.8	36.5	3.3
	Neither basic nor complex activities	181,211	5.5	0.3	29.2	1.8

^a Negative/poor refers to household incomes below the Federal poverty line; near poor/low, over the poverty line to just below 200 percent of the poverty line; middle, 200 percent to just below 400 percent of the poverty line; and high, 400 percent of the poverty line and over.

^b Less than high school refers to fewer than 12 years of education; high school graduate, 12 years of education; and at least some college, more than 12 years of education.

^c For more information, see the MEPS entry in Appendix A, Data Sources.

^d Numbers may not add to total due to missing values or rounding.

^e Denominator is people with asthma who currently have active Asthma, excluding missing values.

* - Data do not meet the criteria for statistical reliability, data quality, or confidentiality.

Key: AI/AN: American Indian or Alaska Native; NHOPI: Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; SE: standard error.

Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

Current as of September 2009

Internet Citation: Table 8_3_1-2: 2008 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. September 2009. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/nhqrdr08/8_respiratorydiseases/T8_3_1-2.html