#17 Worst for Asthma Sufferers: Michigan Places Among the Worst States to Live in if you are Asthmatic

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Article courtesy of Premier Allergy and Asthma.

• Mississippi ranks as the most challenging state for asthma sufferers, with a risk index of 65.53, driven by high environmental risk factors and limited healthcare access. 

• West Virginia ranks second-most challenging for asthma sufferers with an overall score of 60.33, followed by Oklahoma in third place with a score of 58.79. 

• South Dakota ranks as the least challenging state for asthma sufferers with an overall risk index of 32.08.

A new study has named Mississippi the most challenging state in the U.S. for people living with asthma.

The study, conducted by allergy experts at Premier Allergy and Asthma, reviewed all 50 states across four major risk areas: asthma prevalence, access to healthcare, environmental conditions, and transportation-related pollution. Using data such as air quality, smoking regulations, access to healthcare, and proximity to major roadways, states were ranked based on how challenging they are for asthma sufferers, with higher overall scores indicating greater risk.

Michigan Findings

Michigan ranks as the 17th worst state to live in for asthma sufferers, with an index score of 49.03, reflecting a mix of moderate and high-risk factors affecting asthma management across the state. While asthma prevalence was relatively high at 56.13, Michigan faced a high transportation risk (69.34), one of the highest nationwide, which may limit consistent access to care and treatment. Environmental risk factors were slightly lower at 36.63, while healthcare access remained mid-range at 44.25.

Mississippi emerged as the most challenging state overall with an index score of 65.53. The state ranked second for environmental risk factors (65.05) and sixth for lack of healthcare access (64.71), creating a particularly difficult environment for asthma management.

West Virginia follows closely in second place with an overall score of 60.33. The Mountain State has high asthma prevalence (69.45) and substantial environmental risk factors (61.35), though it performs better in healthcare access than many other high-risk states.

Oklahoma ranks third most challenging with a score of 58.79. The state has relatively poor healthcare access, ranking fourth in this category with a score of 66.09, while also having the tenth-highest asthma prevalence.

Alabama takes fourth place with a score of 57.83. Like other Southern states in the top ten, Alabama faces a combination of environmental challenges (ranking sixth) and transportation-related risks (ranking 11th).

Fifth is Kentucky, with an overall score of 56.35, despite having only average asthma prevalence. What pushes Kentucky into the high-risk category is its environmental risk factors, ranking first nationwide, with a score of 65.81.

South Carolina ranks sixth most challenging with a score of 55.67. The state has particularly concerning environmental risk factors, ranking third in this category, while healthcare access is also problematic, placing ninth-worst.

Texas, despite ranking relatively low for asthma prevalence (43rd), places seventh overall, with a score of 54.91. This is due to having the worst healthcare access in the nation, with a score of 77.28, significantly higher than any other state.

In eighth is New Hampshire, with an overall score of 53.23. The state ties with West Virginia for the fifth-highest asthma prevalence, with a score of 69.45.

Wyoming ranks ninth overall with a score of 52.49. The state has moderate scores across most categories but ranks particularly poorly for healthcare access (13th worst).

Completing the top ten is Rhode Island, with a score of 52.05. Notably, Rhode Island has the highest asthma prevalence of any state (75.01) but ranks better in other categories, particularly healthcare access, where it places near the bottom at 49th.

Summit Shah, MD, founder of Premier Allergy and Asthma, commented: 

“The data reveals several important patterns beyond the overall rankings. Transportation-related risks show surprisingly little connection to overall asthma burden, suggesting that higher traffic exposure alone does not always translate to greater challenges for asthma sufferers.

“The analysis also found that some regions with high asthma prevalence benefit from stronger environmental conditions, which helps offset their overall risk. Areas with relatively low asthma prevalence can still rank poorly overall due to factors such as limited access to healthcare.

“Many people don’t realize how significantly regional factors can affect asthma management. While medication and personal care are critical, environmental conditions, healthcare access, and even transportation patterns can have a major impact on quality of life for people living with asthma.”

Sources: 

• CDC – https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/most_recent_data_states.html

• U.S. Census Bureau – https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2022.B27010

• American Hospital Directory – https://www.ahd.com/state_statistics.html

• EPA – https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#AQI

• Kaiser Family Foundation – https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/state-smoking-bans/

• Climate Analysis – https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/most-humid-states

• Bureau of Transportation Statistics – https://www.bts.gov/state-transportation-infrastructure

Methodology:

This study analyzed four key risk categories to determine the most and least challenging states for asthma sufferers:

1. How common asthma is – This included how many people in each state have asthma and how many people die from asthma each year, using CDC data.

2. Access to healthcare – This looked at how easy it is to get medical care, including how many people have health insurance, how many live below the poverty line, and how many hospitals and primary care doctors are available.

3. Environmental risks – This measured things that can trigger asthma, like air pollution levels, smoking laws in public places, how close people live to hazardous waste sites, how old homes are (older homes can have lead paint), and average humidity.

4. Transportation-related pollution – This focused on traffic and vehicle pollution, including how many cars are on nearby roads, how many vehicles are non-electric, how many miles of road there are, and how much people drive.

Each factor was scored on a 0-10 scale, so states could be compared fairly. Higher scores meant higher risk. These scores were then combined into one overall ranking for each state.