Table 1.
Demographics of children and adults with asthma using 1999 MEPS data
| Children ages 6 through 17 years | Adults 18 through 45 years | |||||
| Asthma % | No priority one conditions % | P value* | Asthma % | No priority one conditions % | P value* | |
| Education | ||||||
| <HS | 18.9 | 17.3 | ||||
| HS | NA | NA | NA | 49.3 | 52.4 | N |
| >HS | 32.8 | 30.3 | S | |||
| Rural | ||||||
| Non-MSA | 18.1 | 19.3 | NS | 17.1 | 16.2 | NS |
| Gender | NS | |||||
| Male | 6 | 94 | 2 | 98 | ||
| Female | 4 | 96 | 0.09 | 5 | 95 | |
| Race | ||||||
| Black | 7.9 | 92.3 | 3.6 | 96.4 | NS | |
| White | 4.4 | 95.6 | <0.001 | 2.6 | 97.4 | |
| Ethnicity | ||||||
| Hispanic | 3.6 | 96.4 | 1.5 | 98.6 | <0.001 | |
| Non-Hisp | 5.2 | 94.8 | 0.05 | 3.0 | 97.0 | |
| Income level | ||||||
| Poor/Near | 30.6 | 22.13 | NS | 20.1 | 13.5 | |
| Low | 18.2 | 15.9 | 8.1 | 13.6 | 0.03 | |
| Middle | 26.1 | 31.9 | 32.7 | 32.8 | ||
| High | 25.1 | 30.1 | 39.2 | 40.1 | ||
| USC | ||||||
| Yes | 95.7 | 88.2 | <0.01 | 81.7 | 67.2 | <0.001 |
| Perceived Health Status | ||||||
| Excellent | 22.2 | 55.4 | 11.1 | 40.2 | <0.01 | |
| Good/very | 62.3 | 53.0 | 70.2 | 56.2 | ||
| Poor/Fair | 15.5 | 1.6 | <0.01 | 18.7 | 3.6 | |
| Insurance | ||||||
| Private | 65.0 | 73.4 | 75.7 | 76.6 | ||
| Public | 28.5 | 17.3 | 0.01 | 11.5 | 5.7 | 0.01 |
| No | 6.5 | 9.3 | 12.8 | 17.7 | ||
*p-value for comparison of those with self-reported asthma compared to those with no priority conditions