Asthma in Adults: Is the Prevalence Increasing?

James A, Hunter M, Musk AW. Asthma in Adults: Is the Prevalence Increasing?  Annals of Respiratory Medicine, February 2010; 1(1):69-74

Review Article


L Michael Hunter ^{1 2}, AW (Bill) Musk ^{1 2 4 5} and L Alan James ^{2 3 5}
Affiliations: ¹Department of Respiratory Medicine, ²Busselton Population Medical Research Foundation and ³Department of Pulmonary Physiology/West Australian Sleep Disorders Research Institute, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia; ⁴School of Population Health and ⁵School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia


ABSTRACT

Repeated cross‐sectional studies in adults indicate that there has been a marked increase in doctor‐diagnosed asthma over the last few decades. Some studies suggest that this increase has resulted from increased reporting of respiratory symptoms commonly associated with asthma such as wheeze or cough and phlegm. A rise in the prevalence of risk factors commonly associated with asthma such as atopy, rhinitis, and obesity has been suggested to contribute to this increase. Lack of change in airway hyperresponsiveness in the adult populations where this has been studied suggests that other causes such as changes in diagnostic trends, increased asthma awareness and better availability and efficacy of medications are likely to have contributed to the increased reporting of diagnosed asthma. This article provides an overview of the changing prevalence of doctor‐diagnosed asthma in adults and discusses the factors that may have contributed to the increase.

Keywords: Asthma, epidemiology, prevalence, atopy, allergy, respiratory disease
Correspondence: A/ProfessorAlan James, Department of Pulmonary Physiology/West Australian Sleep Disorders Research Institute, Level 5, G Block, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Hospital Avenue, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia. Tel: (61)8‐9346‐2888; Fax: (61)8‐9346‐2034; e‐mail: Alan.James.SCGH@health.wa.gov.au