Fungal diseases range from minor skin and mucous membrane infections to life-threatening
disseminated disease. The estimated yearly direct health care costs of fungal diseases
exceed $7.2 billion (
1
). These diseases are likely widely underdiagnosed (
1
,
2
), and improved recognition among health care providers and members of the public
is essential to reduce delays in diagnoses and treatment. However, information about
public awareness of fungal diseases is limited. To guide public health educational
efforts, a nationally representative online survey was conducted to assess whether
participants had ever heard of six invasive fungal diseases. Awareness was low and
varied by disease, from 4.1% for blastomycosis to 24.6% for candidiasis. More than
two thirds (68.9%) of respondents had never heard of any of the diseases. Female sex,
higher education, and increased number of prescription medications were associated
with awareness. These findings can serve as a baseline to compare with future surveys;
they also indicate that continued strategies to increase public awareness about fungal
diseases are needed.
Porter Novelli’s Fall 2019 ConsumerStyles survey was used to ask, “Have you ever heard
of the following infections?” Possible answers were aspergillosis, Candida infection
or candidiasis, coccidioidomycosis (“Valley fever”), Cryptococcus infection, blastomycosis,
histoplasmosis, or none of these. The online survey was sent to a nationally representative
sample of 4,677 participants aged ≥18 years who were part of the market research and
consulting firm Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel. Panel members were randomly recruited by mail
using address-based probability-based sampling and were provided with a laptop or
tablet computer and Internet access if needed; 3,624 completed the survey, for a response
rate of 77.5%. Data were weighted to adjust for sampling design and nonresponse to
be representative of the U.S. adult population based on the Consumer Population Survey
benchmarks for sex, age, race/ethnicity, education, U.S. Census region, household
income, home ownership status, metropolitan area status, and Internet access.
Descriptive and bivariate analyses were used to identify potential factors associated
with awareness using simple weighted logistic regression of awareness of each fungal
disease by various sociodemographic and health care utilization characteristics. Multivariate
weighted logistic regression was estimated to derive adjusted odds ratios (AORs);
p-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Measures of goodness of
fit assessed included Akaike Information Criterion, Max-scaled R-squared, and McFadden’s
pseudo R-squared. All analyses were conducted using SAS survey procedures (version
9.4; SAS Institute). No personally identifying information was included in the data
file provided to CDC.*
Fewer than one third of participants (31.1%) had ever heard of any of the fungal diseases
listed on the survey. Awareness was lowest for blastomycosis (4.1%), followed by aspergillosis
(5.1%), histoplasmosis (7.5%), coccidioidomycosis (7.6%), cryptococcosis (9.0%), and
candidiasis (24.6%) (Table 1). Persons aware of one fungal disease were more likely
to be aware of others (i.e., awareness was correlated among diseases, p<0.001). Female
sex, higher educational level, and increased number of prescription medications were
associated with awareness in the multivariable models for all 6 fungal diseases (Table
2). Specifically, females were more than three times as likely to be aware of candidiasis
(AOR = 3.40, 95% CI = 2.8–4.1, p<0. 001) compared with males. Each additional prescription
medication was associated with 6%–11% increased odds of awareness (all p<0.01). Non-White
or multiracial respondents had lower odds of awareness of candidiasis (AOR = 0.68,
p<0.001) and coccidioidomycosis (AOR = 0.60, p<0.05) compared with White respondents.
Residence in the West was associated with significantly higher odds of coccidioidomycosis
awareness (AOR = 2.87, p<0.001) compared with residence in the Midwest. Likelihood
of blastomycosis awareness was lower for respondents in the Northeast (AOR = 0.52,
95%CI = 0.29–0.91) and the South (AOR = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.27–0.72) than in the Midwest.
TABLE 1
Characteristics of respondents who reported ever having heard of certain fungal infections
— Porter Novelli Fall ConsumerStyles Survey, United States, 2019
Characteristics
Weighted no. (%)
Full sample
Aspergillosis
Candida infection or candidiasis
Coccidioidomycosis (Valley fever)
Cryptococcus infection
Blastomycosis
Histoplasmosis
Total
3,624 (100)
184 (5.1)
881 (24.6)
273 (7.6)
321 (9.0)
148 (4.1)
268 (7.5)
Sex
Male
1,756 (48.4)
69 (4.0)†
251 (14.4)*
114 (6.5)†
137 (7.9)§
66 (3.8)
107 (6.2)†
Female
1,868 (51.6)
115 (6.2)
631 (34.1)
159 (8.6)
184 (10)
82 (4.5)
161 (8.7)
Age group (yrs)
18–29
771 (21.3)
26 (3.4)
119 (15.8)*
44 (5.8)†
56 (7.4)
21 (2.8)
36 (4.8)*
30–44
894 (24.7)
44 (5.0)
202 (22.9)*
56 (6.3)†
80 (9.0)
38 (4.3)
52 (5.9)*
45–59
906 (25.0)
51 (5.7)
244 (27.1)*
71 (7.8)†
93 (10.3)
44 (4.9)
71 (7.9)*
≥60
1,052 (29.0)
63 (6.0)
316 (30.2)*
103 (9.8)†
93 (8.9)
45 (4.3)
109 (10.4)*
Race
White
2,815 (77.7)
148 (5.3)
720 (25.9)†
226 (8.1)§
253 (9.1)
119 (4.3)
223 (8.0)§
Non-White or multiracial
809 (22.3)
36 (4.5)
162 (20.2)†
47 (5.8)§
68 (8.5)
30 (3.7)
45 (5.7)§
Ethnicity
Non-Hispanic
3038 (83.8)
162 (5.4)
739 (24.6)
226 (7.5)
273 (9.1)
134 (4.5)§
240 (8.0)†
Hispanic
586 (16.2)
22 (3.8)
142 (24.3)
47 (8.0)
48 (8.2)
14 (2.4)§
28 (4.8)†
Education
Less than high school
390 (10.7)
11 (2.9)*
48 (12.4)*
28 (7.4)†
13 (3.4)*
11 (2.9)†
21 (5.6)*
High school
1,038 (28.7)
28 (2.8)*
199 (19.5)*
46 (4.5)†
56 (5.5)*
22 (2.1)†
46 (4.5)*
Some college
1,024 (28.3)
51 (5.0)*
268 (26.4)*
84 (8.2)†
102 (10.0)*
44 (4.3)†
76 (7.5)*
Bachelor's degree or higher
1,172 (32.3)
94 (8.0)*
367 (31.6)*
115 (9.9)†
150 (12.9)*
72 (6.2)†
124 (10.7)*
Have a child aged <18 years
982 (27.1)
38 (3.9)§
248 (25.6)
67 (6.9)
90 (9.3)
40 (4.1)
58 (6.0)§
MSA category
Nonmetropolitan
491 (13.6)
18 (3.7)
104 (21.4)
24 (5.0)†
28 (5.8)†
21 (4.3)
38 (7.9)
Metropolitan
3133 (86.4)
166 (5.4)
778 (25.1)
249 (8.0)†
293 (9.5)†
128 (4.1)
230 (7.4)
Census region¶
Northeast
643 (17.7)
34 (5.3)
170 (26.9)
29 (4.5)*
46 (7.3)
23 (3.6)*
33 (5.1)†
Midwest
755 (20.8)
39 (5.2)
187 (25.0)
52 (7.0)*
69 (9.2)
54 (7.2)*
78 (10.4)†
South
1,367 (37.7)
67 (4.9)
320 (23.6)
56 (4.2)*
132 (9.7)
37 (2.7)*
103 (7.6)†
West
860 (23.7)
44 (5.2)
205 (24.2)
136 (16.0)*
75 (8.8)
34 (4.1)*
55 (6.5)†
Characteristic
Mean (range)
Mean (standard error)
Age in years
47 (18–94)
55 (1.0)§
56 (0.5)*
57 (0.9)†
54 (0.8)
54 (1.2)
57 (0.9)†
No. of health care provider visits in the last 12 mos
5 (0–368)
6 (0.6)
6 (0.2)
6 (0.5)
6 (0.4)
5 (0.6)
6 (0.5)
No. of prescription medications
2 (0–36)
3 (0.2)†
3 (0.1)*
3 (0.2)†
3 (0.2)†
3 (0.3)†
3 (0.2)*
Household income**
$72,106 (<$5,000 to ≥$250.000)
$83,971 ($3,972)†
$77,999 ($2,449)*
$76,925 ($3,137)†
$78,699 ($2,960)†
$80,397 ($4,621)†
$82,051 ($2,457)†
Abbreviation: MSA = metropolitan statistical area.
*p<0.001.
†p<0.005.
§p<0.10 for F-test. P value for the F-test for significant effect of variable overall,
equivalent to t-test for dichotomous and continuous variables.
¶
Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont; Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin; South:
Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas,
Virginia, West Virginia; West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho,
Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.
** Household income means and standard errors were mapped from the following income
categories: 1 = <$5,000; 2 = $5,000 to $7,499; 3 = $7,500 to $9,999; 4 = $10,000 to
$12,499; 5 = $12,500 to $14,999; 6 = $15,000 to $19,999; 7 = $20,000 to $24,999; 8 = $25,000
to $29,999; 9 = $30,000 to $34,999; 10 = $35,000 to $39,999; 11 = $40,000 to $49,999;
12 = $50,000 to $59,999; 13 = $60,000 to $74,999; 14 = $75,000 to $84,999; 15 = $85,000
to $99,999; 16 = $100,000 to $124,999; 17 = $125,000 to $149,999; 18 = $150,000 to
$174,999; 19 = $175,000 to $199,999; 20 = $200,000 to $249,999; 21 = ≥$250,000.
TABLE 2
Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) for sociodemographic and health care utilization characteristics
associated with awareness of fungal diseases — Porter Novelli Fall ConsumerStyles
Survey, United States, 2019
Characteristic
AOR (95% CI)
Aspergillosis
Candida infection or candidiasis
Coccidioidomycosis (Valley fever)
Cryptococcus infection
Blastomycosis AOR
Histoplasmosis AOR
Sex (female versus male)
1.67 (1.18–2.38)†
3.40 (2.8–4.13)*
1.53 (1.15–2.04)†
1.34 (1.02–1.75)†
1.15 (0.78–1.70)
1.51 (1.13–2.02)†
Age, yrs
1.00 (0.99–1.01)
1.01 (1.01–1.02)*
1.01 (1.00–1.02)
1.00 (0.99–1.01)
1.00 (0.99–1.01)
1.01 (1.00–1.02)
Race (non-White or multiracial versus White)
0.75 (0.45–1.25)
0.68 (0.52–0.89)†
0.60 (0.39–0.91)†
0.84 (0.58–1.21)
0.74 (0.41–1.33)
0.63 (0.39–1.01)§
Ethnicity (Hispanic versus non-Hispanic)
1.04 (0.60–1.82)
1.38 (1.01–1.87)†
0.89 (0.55–1.43)
1.20 (0.77–1.89)
0.65 (0.31–1.37)
0.78 (0.47–1.32)
Education (referent = bachelor’s degree or higher)
Less than high school
0.33 (0.13–0.82)†
0.23 (0.13–0.41)*
0.62 (0.30–1.30)
0.22 (0.10–0.47)*
0.52 (0.20–1.34)
0.59 (0.29–1.17)
High school
0.31 (0.18–0.54)*
0.40 (0.3–0.52)*
0.40 (0.25–0.63)*
0.37 (0.25–0.54)*
0.31 (0.17–0.56)*
0.39 (0.26–0.59)*
Some college
0.48 (0.32–0.73)†
0.65 (0.52–0.82)*
0.73 (0.53–1.02)
0.67 (0.48–0.92)†
0.64 (0.42–0.98)†
0.64 (0.45–0.91)†
Have child aged <18 yrs
0.78 (0.49–1.23)
1.21 (0.95–1.56)
1.04 (0.70–1.54)
1.06 (0.76–1.48)
0.94 (0.59–1.52)
0.85 (0.57–1.28)
No. of health care provider visits in the last 12 months
0.99 (0.97–1.01)
1 (0.99–1.00)
0.99 (0.98–1.01)
1 (0.99–1.00)
0.99 (0.98–1.01)
1.00 (0.99–1.01)
No. of prescription medications
1.11 (1.03–1.19)†
1.06 (1.03–1.10)†
1.08 (1.02–1.15)†
1.11 (1.05–1.16)*
1.09 (1.02–1.16)†
1.10 (1.04–1.16)†
Household income
¶
1.01 (0.96–1.06)
0.99 (0.97–1.02)
1.00 (0.96–1.04)
1.00 (0.97–1.04)
1.01 (0.96–1.07)
1.03 (1–1.07) §
MSA category (non-MSA versus MSA)
0.80 (0.45–1.40)
0.90 (0.68–1.19)
0.74 (0.46–1.20)
0.69 (0.45–1.06)§
1.17 (0.72–1.91)
1.13 (0.78–1.65)
Census region**
Northeast
1.17 (0.67–2.04)
1.17 (0.87–1.56)
0.67 (0.40–1.13)
0.87 (0.56–1.35)
0.52 (0.29–0.91)†
0.51 (0.34–0.79)†
Midwest
Ref
Ref
Ref
Ref
Ref
Ref
South
1.07 (0.65–1.78)
0.99 (0.77–1.28)
0.58 (0.36–0.93)†
1.15 (0.79–1.67)
0.44 (0.27–0.72)†
0.79 (0.56–1.13)
West
1.10 (0.65–1.88)
1.03 (0.78–1.36)
2.87 (1.94–4.25)*
1.02 (0.68–1.53)
0.69 (0.42–1.12)
0.72 (0.47–1.10)
Max-rescaled R squared
0.06
0.15
0.12
0.06
0.06
0.07
Abbreviations: CI = confidence interval; MSA = metropolitan statistical area; Ref
= referent.
*p<0.001.
†p<0.05.
§p<0.10.
¶Household income included 21 categories, ranging from <$5,000 to >$250,000 yearly.
AOR is therefore interpreted as the effect on odds of awareness associated with an
increase in income from the mean category ($60,000–$74,999), to the next highest category
($75,000–$84,999).
Discussion
Public awareness of fungal diseases is low, a concerning finding because these diseases
are associated with substantial illness, death, and economic cost, although their
true burden remains largely unquantified (
1
,
2
). Primary prevention of fungal diseases can be challenging, particularly for those
acquired via inhalation from the natural environment. Therefore, awareness is critical
to help prevent severe disease, because early diagnosis and treatment can prevent
incorrect treatment and improve outcomes. For example, knowledge of coccidioidomycosis
before seeking health care has been associated with faster diagnosis (
3
).
Previous analyses show that coccidioidomycosis awareness is high in Arizona (97%)
(
4
) and lower in California (42%) (California Department of Public Health, unpublished
data, 2020). More than 95% of cases occur in these two states, with most cases concentrated
in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert and California’s southern San Joaquin Valley (
5
). The results suggest much lower levels of awareness in the West (of which Arizona
and California account for 87% of the population) than previous studies (
4
,
5
), possibly because of methodologic differences. The lower awareness of coccidioidomycosis
among non-White and multiracial respondents is noteworthy given that Black race and
Filipino ethnicity are risk factors for severe or disseminated disease. Focused messaging
could be useful for these groups (
6
).
Public awareness of histoplasmosis and blastomycosis has not been studied, although
public health surveillance shows that 15% of patients with histoplasmosis reported
awareness of the disease before their diagnosis, and many were aware because they
worked in the health care field (
7
). In 2018, the United States had approximately 5.3 million health diagnosing and
treating practitioners nationwide (1.6% of the U.S. population). Some survey respondents
might have been familiar with fungal diseases through their occupations; this is supported
by the correlation between awareness of each disease. Low blastomycosis awareness
is consistent with the disease being considerably less common than coccidioidomycosis
and histoplasmosis. Notably, regional awareness patterns for blastomycosis and coccidioidomycosis
corresponded to geographic areas where they are more prevalent. Nonetheless, more
widespread awareness is essential because these geographic areas appear to be wider
than previously appreciated (
8
), and travel-associated cases occur regularly.
Candidiasis can include severe bloodstream infections and other invasive disease,
as well as skin and mucous membrane infections. Higher awareness about candidiasis
compared with other diseases in this analysis is not surprising given that vulvovaginal
Candida infections are common, resulting in nearly 1.4 million outpatient visits per
year nationwide (
1
). Nonetheless, the fact that only one third of women had heard of candidiasis contrasts
with the commonly cited (but not well documented) estimate that 75% of women have
at least one vaginal Candida infection during their lifetime (
9
), suggesting that many women might know this condition by another name. Future studies
might examine familiarity with the more common term “yeast infection.”
In general, mold appears to be well recognized as a potential health risk; for example,
96% of residents surveyed in a posthurricane setting answered “yes” to “do you think
mold can make people sick?” (
10
). However, no previous evaluations of awareness about nonallergic health conditions
from mold, specifically invasive mold infections, the most common of which is aspergillosis,
could be found. Although an estimated 15,000 U.S. hospitalizations occur annually
with aspergillosis (
1
), typically involving severe illness, the disease might not be widely known because
invasive aspergillosis most commonly affects severely immunocompromised persons. This
is supported by the finding of the association between awareness and increasing number
of prescription medications, a proxy for health status.
The findings in this report are subject to at least four limitations. First, the data
were self-reported. The extent, accuracy, and source of participants’ knowledge could
not be determined. Second, no information was available about participants’ health
literacy, although greater awareness at higher educational levels was apparent. Third,
as shown by the goodness of fit measures, a great deal of the variation in awareness
of these fungal diseases remains to be explained, and some might be idiosyncratic
based on experiences of family or friends with these diseases. Finally, information
about risk factors such as immunosuppression, environmental exposures, and occupation
was not available but could help public health and health care professionals develop
targeted prevention messages to groups at high risk.
These first nationally representative estimates of public fungal disease awareness
demonstrate major gaps, indicating a need for continued efforts to strengthen education
messages, particularly for groups at higher risk and those with lower educational
attainment. These data also provide a baseline for future studies to evaluate fungal
disease knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors in more detail.
Summary
What is already known about this topic?
Invasive fungal diseases cause considerable morbidity and mortality. Awareness is
essential for early diagnosis and treatment.
What is added by this report?
Public awareness of invasive fungal diseases was low in a 2019 survey of 3,624 adults;
approximately two thirds of respondents had never heard of any of the diseases on
the survey.
What are the implications for public health practice?
These results are the first estimates of nationwide public awareness of fungal diseases
and serve as a baseline for future studies to assess knowledge gaps. Continued educational
efforts to improve awareness are needed.