Wordwide Asthma Epidemic

Five percent of the world’s population suffers from asthma, now one of the world’s most common long-term health conditions. That adds up to more than 300 million worldwide or about 1 out of every 20 people, according to figures released during the World Asthma Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand.

Experts attribute this trend to growing urbanization and widespread adoption of Western lifestyles.

“These disturbing findings reveal for the first time the scale of the global burden of asthma. Until there is a greater understanding of the factors that cause asthma, and novel public health and pharmacological measures become available, the priority is to ensure that cost-effective management approaches are available to as many asthmatic individuals as possible worldwide," said Professor Richard Beasley, of the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand and one of the authors of the Global Burden of Asthma Report.

The Daily Telegraph reported recently that British teenagers have the highest rate of asthma in the world, with almost 34 percent of 13- and 14-year-olds suffering from the condition, researchers report.

Researchers are not sure what is causing the spike, but they’re investigating factors such as the environment, diet and genetics.

Posted by Jim Langcuster at February 24, 2004 08:15 AM | TrackBack