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Asthma is a bothersome condition in any state, but according to a new study, South Carolina is one of the worst places in the U.S. for people with the disease.
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Experts at Premeir Allergy and Asthma, a clinic specializing in diagnosing asthma and allergies, conducted a study that reviewed all states’ major risk factors for asthma.
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.
“Many people don’t realize how significantly regional factors can affect asthma management. While medication and personal care are critical, environmental conditions, health care access, and even transportation patterns can have a major impact on quality of life for people living with asthma.”
Here’s how the Palmetto State compared to other states:
SC asthma ranking
Unfortunately for South Carolinians who suffer from asthma, experts say that SC is one of the most challenging states, due to its high asthma prevalence, environmental risk, transportation risk and poor healthcare access.
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As a result, the Palmetto State is named the 6th worst state to live with asthma and has a risk index score of 55.67, indicating a much higher risk for those with asthma compared to those in other states.
The most troubling aspects that haunt the asthmatics in SC are the states’ environmental conditions and concerning health care access, ranking 3rd and 9th in the country, respectively.
Worst 5 states to live with asthma
SC may not have the best conditions for those with asthma, but these five states are even worse, according to the study:
- Mississippi: The state ranked 2nd for environmental risk factors and 6th for lack of healthcare access, creating a particularly difficult environment for asthma management
- West Virginia: The Mountain State has high asthma prevalence and substantial environmental risk factors, though it performs better in healthcare access than many other high-risk states
- Oklahoma: The state has relatively poor healthcare access, ranking 4th in this category, while also having the tenth-highest asthma prevalence
- Alabama: Like other Southern states in the top ten, Alabama faces a combination of environmental challenges (ranking 6th) and transportation-related risks (ranking 11th)
- Kentucky: What pushes Kentucky into the high-risk category is its environmental risk factors, ranking first nationwide
How they ranked each state
The study used four main categories to give a score for each state. The higher the score, the worse the state is for those with asthma. The categories included:
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- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
The study used data from the CDC, U.S. Census Bureau, EPA, and several others.