Based on Asthma UK’s criteria and independent analysis of large-scale surveys, there are 5.2 million people with asthma in the UK in 2004. This total includes:
· 700,000 people with asthma aged over 65 years
· 590,000 teenagers with asthma
· 2.9 million women and girls and 2.3 million men and boys. Around 60 percent of adults with asthma are women; approximately 54 percent of the children with asthma are boys.
Comparing these figures with previous snapshots of asthma reveals a shifting pattern:
· There has been a rise of 400,000 in the number of adults with asthma in the UK – more than the population of Bristol – since the last audit of UK asthma in 2001
· Even so, asthma is more widespread in children than in adults. It is the most common long-term childhood medical condition, affecting 1.1 million in the UK one in ten children.
The research on International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Chi8ldhood used surveys of children aged 12-14 years from across the UK to measure the prevalence of asthma symptoms. The results indicate that between 1995 and 2002, the numbers experiencing wheeze symptoms fell, but the overall level within the population remains. Results from a large English survey, conducted in 1995 and again in 2001, hints that the increase in the numbers of adults with diagnosed asthma may be associated with children who were diagnosed with asthma growing up. There were significant increases in the numbers of people with asthma in the age bands 16-24 years for men and 16-34 years for women. Trends in UK death rates show little improvement over the past 20 years and the decline in the death rate appears to be slowing.
The trend in General Practitioner (GP) visits made by asthma patients is also changing. People with asthma need the NHS for two main areas of care:
1. Proactive, routine appointments with doctors and nurses for reviews, repeat prescriptions, and written personal asthma action plans.
2. Reactive, emergency care in hospital or with a doctor to regain control of worsening symptoms.
Studies reveal that:
· There are over 4.1 million GP consultations for asthma in a year.
· There were over 69,000 hospital admissions for asthma in 2002.
Between 1999 and 2003, there was a fall in the numbers of visits made by 0-15 year olds to a GP, while among those aged over 15 years old, there was an increase. This has led to an overall increase in the rate of GP consultations for asthma. These statistics include those visiting their doctor with first or new episodes of asthma – a reflection of reactive, emergency consultations with a doctor. Among children with asthma, there was a peak in these consultations in the early 1990s. Recently published statistics show that these rates then declined until 1999, after which they stabilized. Relatively more children are admitted to hospital than adults, but the trends show that the rate of hospital admissions for childhood asthma has fallen over the last 20 years. The rate of hospital admissions among adults has remained stable despite the many advances seen in managing and treating asthma.
Studies focusing on the cost of asthma reveal that asthma is costing the UK over £2.3 billion a year. That annual cost is equivalent to three Millennium Domes or more than five Scottish Parliament buildings. The Office for Health Economics estimated that the costs to the NHS in 2001 totalled £889 million. However, given the increase in the numbers of adults with asthma, the impact that asthma has on productivity and costs to society also demands attention. The Department for Work and Pensions estimated the cost of social security benefits at £260 million. The number of work days lost to asthma is at least 12.7 million, leading to an estimated bill for lost productivity of £1.2 billion.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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