Allergies Health Center
Allergy Statistics and Facts
How many people in the U.S. are allergic -- to ragweed pollen, cat dander, or food? What sort of impact do allergies have on society? Here's a rundown of some of the most important allergy statistics -- based on the best available data.
- Number of people in the U.S. who have either allergy or asthma symptoms:
one in five.
- Percentage of the U.S. population that tests positive to one or more
allergens: 55%.
- Rank of allergies among other leading chronic diseases in the U.S.:
5th.
- One estimate of the annual cost of allergies to the health care system and
businesses in the U.S.: $7.9 billion.
- Number of workdays lost each year as a result of hay fever: 4
million.
- Number of weeks by which the ragweed pollen season has increased in the
last 10 to 15 years, likely as a result of global warming: four.
- Odds that a child with one allergic parent will develop allergies:
33%.
- Odds that a child with two allergic parents will develop allergies:
70%.
- Number of ER visits in the U.S. caused by food allergies each year:
30,000.
- Percentage of the people in the U.S. who believe they have a food
allergy: up to 15%.
- Percentage of the people in the U.S. who actually have a food
allergy: 3% to 4%.
- Percentage of our lives that we spend indoors: 90%.
- Degree by which levels of indoor pollution in U.S. homes exceed levels of
outdoor pollution: two to 100 times, depending on factors such as whether the
residents smoke.
- Percentage of U.S. households with one or more dogs: 39%.
- Percentage of U.S. households with one or more cats: 36%.
- Percentage of all U.S. households with detectable levels of dog and cat
dander: 100%.
- Percentage of people in the U.S. that have asthma: 7.7%.
- Increase in the prevalence of asthma in U.S. children under age 5 between
1980 and 1994: 160%.
- Number of annual ER visits in the U.S. caused by asthma: 1.8 million in 2004.
- Percentage of people hospitalized for asthma who are children: About 44%.
- Number of deaths each year in the U.S. from asthma: About 4,000.
- Number of people with chronic allergy-like symptoms -- runny nose, congestion and cough -- but who have nonallergic rhinitis instead: one out of three.
Spotting Hidden Allergy Triggers
If you've been living with allergies, you probably know the obvious stuff by now -- don't take in stray cats, don't hang around in dusty attics, don't inhale deeply in smoking lounges. But that might not be enough. There could be hidden allergy triggers and irritants all around you that you don't know about. "Hidden allergens and irritants are a huge problem for people with allergies," says Hugh H. Windom, MD, an associate clinical professor of immunology at the University of South Florida...
Read the Spotting Hidden Allergy Triggers article > >
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