Asthma charts
Asthma in Minnesota
- Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalizations
- Age Groups
- Seasonal Patterns
- Greater Minnesota and Metro area
- Counties
- Metro ZIP Codes
- Cities
Emergency Department (ED) Visits and Hospitalizations
Asthma emergency department (ED) visit rates remained relatively stable from 2007 to 2014 (*at the time of the ICD coding change). Since that time, rates have fallen slowly with a significant drop in 2020 during the COVID pandemic. In 2021, visits increased after the initial pandemic shutdown. ED visits include patients who went to the emergency department and were released, and patients who were subsequently admitted to the hospital.
Asthma hospitalization rates have been steadily decreasing over the past decade. Asthma cannot be cured, but it can be controlled and managed with adequate access to medical care, medications, trigger avoidance, and self-management.
Note: Emergency department visit and hospitalization data do not include data from federal and sovereign hospitals (e.g. Veteran's Administration, Indian Health Service) or data on Minnesota residents seen in facilities outside of Minnesota and North Dakota. For more information, see About asthma data.
ED visits
Asthma ED visit rates in Minnesota
Age-adjusted rate per 10,000 people
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*ICD: The International Classification of Disease (ICD) coding changed for asthma on October 1st, 2015. Rates from 2014 and earlier should not be compared to rates after the coding change.
Hospitalizations
Asthma hospitalization rates in Minnesota
Age-adjusted rate per 10,000 people
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*ICD: The International Classification of Disease (ICD) coding changed for asthma on October 1st, 2015. Rates from 2014 and earlier should not be compared to rates after the coding change.
Table
Asthma ED visit and hospitalization rates in Minnesota
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*ICD: The International Classification of Disease (ICD) coding changed for asthma on October 1st, 2015. Rates from 2014 and earlier should not be compared to rates after the coding change.
Age Groups
The highest asthma emergency department visit rates generally are seen among children under the age of 5 years. Starting in 2020 with the COVID pandemic, rates changed. Among children, asthma emergency department visit rates are higher for boys than girls (0-14 years). Among teens and adults, rates are higher for women than men. In 2021, the age-adjusted asthma emergency department visit rate was 25.6 for females and 22.1 for males per 10,000.
The highest asthma hospitalization rates are in children under the age of 5 years. The rate decreases until middle age and then starts to increase for older age groups, with the most striking difference for females between 45-54. Among children, asthma hospitalization rates are higher for boys than girls. Among adults, rates are higher for women than for men. In 2021, the age-adjusted asthma hospitalization rate was 2.7 for females and 2.0 for males per 10,000.
ED visits
Asthma ED visit rates in Minnesota, by age and sex in 2021
Age-specific rate per 10,000 people
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Hospitalizations
Asthma hospitalization rates in Minnesota, by age and sex in 2021
Age-specific rate per 10,000 people
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Table
Asthma ED visit and hospitalization rates in Minnesota, by age and sex
Age-adjusted rate per 10,000 people for year 2021
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Asthma Seasonal Patterns
Before 2020, emergency department visits for asthma in Minnesota followed seasonal patterns, with the highest number of visits occurring in the fall and the lowest in the summer. In 2020, the highest rates for all age groups were during the months of February and March. There was an additional increasing trend in the fall for all age groups, except for people over 65. In 2021 the patterns shifted again. The data show a peak in July and then again in the fall.
People age 65 and over generally have the lowest average daily number of emergency department visits and show less seasonal variation in emergency department visits. It is difficult to distinguish asthma from COPD in people aged 65 and older. A major contributor to the fall increase in asthma emergency department visits is thought to be increasing rates of respiratory infections among children returning to school. Other possible contributing factors include pollen and mold.
Asthma hospital admissions also follow seasonal patterns. More people are hospitalized for asthma in the spring and fall, and fewer in the summer.
ED visits
Daily asthma ED visits in Minnesota, by month in 2021
Average daily ED visits
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Hospitalizations
Daily asthma hospitalizations in Minnesota, by month in 2021
Average daily hospitalizations
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Table
Daily asthma ED visits and hospitalizations in Minnesota, by month in 2021
Average daily ED visits and hospitalizations
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Asthma in Greater Minnesota and Metro area
Children under the age of 18 living in the 7-county Twin Cities metropolitan area have higher rates of asthma emergency department visits compared to those living outside this area in Greater Minnesota. This trend has been consistent over the years, with children under the age of 18 in the Metro area having nearly double the rate compared to those in Greater Minnesota. In 2021, the rate for Metro children was 44.0 compared to 27.5 for children in Greater Minnesota.
Since 2000, there has been a dramatic decrease in asthma hospitalization rates among children under the age of 18 in the 7-county Twin Cities metropolitan area. However, despite the decrease, the rates remain the highest in the state. Asthma hospitalization rates among children in Minnesota began decreasing after 2007.
Note: The notable decrease in 2020 childhood asthma hospitalizations and ED visits is due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring people to isolate.
ED visits
Asthma ED visit rates in Minnesota, by region in 2021
Age-adjusted rate per 10,000 people
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Hospitalizations
Asthma hospitalization rates in Minnesota, by region in 2021
Age-adjusted rate per 10,000 people
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Table
Asthma ED visit and hospitalization rates in Minnesota, by region in 2021
Age-adjusted rate per 10,000 people
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Asthma in Counties
ED visits
Asthma ED visit rates for 2019-2021 by county
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Hospitalizations
Asthma hospitalization rates for 2019-2021 by county
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Table
Asthma hospitalization rates for 2019-2021 by county
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Notes
- The counts are not whole numbers due to how we determined county. To calculate the number of counts per county, we used zip codes to figure out which county each case belongs to. Some zip codes in Minnesota cross county boundaries, so a weighted method is used to split cases. For example, in the zip code 56318 60% of people live in Todd County and 40% live in Morrison County. So a hospitalization or ED visit with this zip code would add 0.6 count to Todd County and 0.4 to Morrison County. This ensures each county is represented as accurately as possible given we only have zip code information.
- Data are aggregated over multiple years to allow visualization of more county or ZIP Code data than viewing data in one-year segments would allow.
- County population data are from the U.S. Census Population Estimates Program (3-year combined total population) and ZIP Code population data are 5-year estimates from the American Community Survey (average annual population). Poverty data for Minnesota, its counties, and ZIP Codes are from the 5-year American Community Survey.
- To protect privacy, asthma hospitalization or emergency department counts of 5 or less are “suppressed” if the underlying population is less than 100,000 people. Geographies with suppressed data are displayed as white on the map.
- Age-adjusted rates based on counts between 6 and 20 or with relative standard error greater than or equal to 30% should be interpreted with caution – the rate may not be reliable because it can change dramatically with the addition or subtraction of a single case. Geographies considered to have an “unstable rate” are indicated in the table and map descriptions.
- These data include Minnesota residents discharged from hospitals in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa. However, Minnesota residents who sought care at Wisconsin hospitals are not included, so rates for counties bordering Wisconsin may be underestimated.
- These data do not include hospitalizations from Veterans Affairs or Indian Health Service hospitals.
- For additional information, please visit About the Asthma Data.
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*The Minnesota Department of Health does not guarantee the geographic accuracy or completeness of mapped boundaries and features. Geographic boundaries on this map are subject to periodic updates (e.g., zip code boundaries and census tracts change over time) and may vary across sources.
Asthma in Metro ZIP Codes
ED visits
Asthma Emergency Department visit rates for 2017-2021 by ZIP Code
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Hospitalizations
Asthma hospitalization rates for 2017-2021 by ZIP Code
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Table
Asthma ED visit and hospitalization rates for 2017-2021 by ZIP Code
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Notes
- Data are aggregated over multiple years to allow visualization of more county or ZIP Code data than viewing data in one-year segments would allow.
- County population data are from the U.S. Census Population Estimates Program (3-year combined total population) and ZIP Code population data are 5-year estimates from the American Community Survey (average annual population). Poverty data for Minnesota, its counties, and ZIP Codes are from the 5-year American Community Survey.
- To protect privacy, asthma hospitalization or emergency department counts of 5 or less are “suppressed” if the underlying population is less than 100,000 people. Geographies with suppressed data are displayed as white on the map.
- Age-adjusted rates based on counts between 6 and 20 or with relative standard error greater than or equal to 30% should be interpreted with caution – the rate may not be reliable because it can change dramatically with the addition or subtraction of a single case. Geographies considered to have an “unstable rate” are indicated in the table and map descriptions.
- These data include Minnesota residents discharged from hospitals in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa. However, Minnesota residents who sought care at Wisconsin hospitals are not included, so rates for counties bordering Wisconsin may be underestimated.
- These data do not include hospitalizations from Veterans Affairs or Indian Health Service hospitals.
- For additional information, please visit About the Asthma Data.
- *The Minnesota Department of Health does not guarantee the geographic accuracy or completeness of mapped boundaries and features. Geographic boundaries on this map are subject to periodic updates (e.g., zip code boundaries and census tracts change over time) and may vary across sources.
Asthma in Cities
ED visits
Asthma ED visit rates for 2016-2020 by city
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*Surrounding area: The surrounding area of a city includes the county or counties where the city is located. The surrounding area of Duluth includes St. Louis county, and for Rochester, it includes Olmsted county. For St. Cloud, the surrounding area includes Benton, Sherburne, and Stearns counties.
Hospitalizations
Asthma hospitalization rates for 2016-2020 by city
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*Surrounding area: The surrounding area of a city includes the county or counties the city sits in. The surrounding area for the city of Duluth includes St. Louis county. For Rochester, it includes Olmsted county. For St. Cloud, it includes Benton, Sherburne, and Stearns counties.
Table
Asthma ED visit and hospitalization rates for 2016-2020 by city
Click Download data to the right for a plain text version of the table
*Surrounding area: The surrounding area of a city includes the county or counties the city sits in. The surrounding area for the city of Duluth includes St. Louis county. For Rochester, it includes Olmsted county. For St. Cloud, it includes Benton, Sherburne, and Stearns counties.
Data sources
Last updated October 2023.