12-month prevalence of asthma among adults in Germany

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways affecting people of all ages. The disease is characterised by a variable narrowing of the bronchia, which may be accompanied by symptoms such as wheezing or shortness of breath. In GEDA 2014/2015-EHIS, 6.2% of respondents aged 18 years or older with complete information on the respective indicator (n=22,671) reported having had asthma during the past 12 months. The 12-month prevalence among women (7.1%) is higher than among men (5.4%). Overall, women and men with a low level of education more often reported having had asthma than those with a higher level of education. In analyses stratified by age and gender, differences in asthma prevalence with regard to educational level are evident among women under 30 years of age. In a comparison of federal states, the prevalence of asthma ranges from 3.0% to 9.7% among women and from 2.9% to 7.0% among men.