Best and Worst US Cities for Patients with Seasonal Allergies
With allergy season already here, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) recently released its annual Allergy Capitals™ report for 2021. The report identifies the most challenging cities for seasonal allergic rhinitis (ie, hay fever) in the top 100 US metropolitan areas. Cities are graded on 3 factors: Spring and fall pollen scores, over-the-counter medicine use, and availability of board-certified allergists. For each factor, the AAFA used the most recently available 12-month data.
In the slides below, find out which areas ranked most and least challenging for patients with seasonal allergies.
Fast Facts about Allergies in the US. According to the AAFA:
• >50 million Americans experience various types of allergies each year.
• Allergies are the 6th leading cause of chronic illness.
• In 2015, 8.2% of adults and 8.4% of children were diagnosed with hay fever.
• People visit the emergency room approximately 200 000 times each year due to food allergies.
Fast Facts about Allergies in the US. According to the AAFA:
• The most common triggers for anaphylaxis are medications, food, and insect stings. Drugs cause the most allergy-related deaths.
• African Americans and the elderly have the deadliest reactions to medicines, food, or unknown allergens.
• The annual cost of allergies exceeds $18 billion.
Top 10 Most Challenging Cities to Live with Seasonal Allergies:
Scranton, PA (1); Richmond, VA (2); Wichita, KS (3); McAllen, TX (4); Pittsburgh, PA (5); Hartford, CT (6); Springfield, MA (7); New Haven, CT (8); Oklahoma City, OK (9); Bridgeport, CT (10)
Top 10 Least Challenging Cities to Live with Seasonal Allergies:
Denver, CO (91); Fresno, CA (92); Portland, OR (93); Milwaukee, WI (94); Stockton, CA (95); San Jose, CA (96); Salt Lake City, UT (97); Provo, UT (98); Seattle, WA (99); Durham, NC (100)
Top 10 Most Challenging Cities to Live with Seasonal Allergies: Spring
Richmond, VA (1); Scranton, PA (2); Wichita, KS (3); Virginia Beach, VA (4); Pittsburgh, PA (5); Hartford, CT (6); Oklahoma City, OK (7); McAllen, TX (8); Las Vegas, NV (9); Springfield, MA (10)
Top 10 Least Challenging Cities to Live with Seasonal Allergies: Spring
Denver, CO (91); Stockton, CA (92); Fresno, CA (93); Madison, WI (94); San Jose, CA (95); Salt Lake City, UT (96); Milwaukee, WI (97); Seattle, WA (98); Provo, UT (99); Durham, NC (100)
Top 10 Most Challenging Cities to Live with Seasonal Allergies: Fall
Scranton, PA (1); Richmond, VA (2); Wichita, KS (3); McAllen, TX (4); Pittsburgh, PA (5); Buffalo, NY (6); Hartford, CT (7); Springfield, MA (8); New Haven, CT (9); Albany, NY (10)
Top 10 Least Challenging Cities to Live with Seasonal Allergies: Fall
Fresno, CA (91); San Francisco, CA (92); Sacramento, CA (93); Portland, OR (94); Salt Lake City, UT (95); San Jose, CA (96); Provo, UT (97); Stockton, CA (98); Seattle, WA (99); Durham, NC (100)
