Asthma Facts

Asthma at a Glance

from National Asthma Council Australia. Asthma Management Handbook 2006. Melbourne, 2006

Over 2.2 million Australians have currently diagnosed asthma.¹
The prevalence of asthma in Australia is relatively high, by international standards:¹
- 14-16% of children (one in six)
- 10-12% of adults (one in nine)
More boys than girls have asthma. However, after teenage years, asthma is more common in women than in men.¹
Asthma is more common among Indigenous Australians, particularly adults, than among other Australians.¹
There is a strong link between asthma and allergy: more than 80%of people with asthma have evidence of allergic sensitisation.²
Atopy is strongly associated with asthma that persists beyond the first 6 years of life.³^,4
The presence of other allergic disorders (eczema or allergic rhinitis) or parental history of atopy are risk factors for persistent asthma at 6 years.⁵
Atopy is also a risk factor for hospitalisation for asthma, as are frequent respiratory symptoms, airway hyperresponsiveness and reduced lung function.⁶
Children aged 0 to 4 years are the group that most commonly visits general practitioners or emergency departments or is hospitalised for asthma.¹
Among pre-school and primary age children, rates of hospital visits for asthma are highest in February.¹
Around 40% of children who have asthma live with smokers and are likely to be exposed to passive smoke.¹
Despite the known additional health risks, just as many people with asthma smoke as people without asthma.¹
People with asthma report poorer general health and quality of life than people without asthma.¹
More people with asthma suffer from anxiety and depression than people without asthma.¹
A greater proportion of people with asthma had days away from work or study in the last two weeks (11.4%) than people without asthma (7.9%) preceding a survey.¹
Poorly controlled asthma restricts participation in normal physical and social activities.⁷
The risk of dying from asthma is highest in the elderly; however, asthma deaths occur in all age groups.¹
In 2006, 402 people died from asthma - the latest figures.⁸
Asthma deaths are more common among those living in less well-off localities in Australia.¹
However, education, together with self-monitoring, appropriate drug therapy, regular medical review and an written asthma action plan, reduces morbidity and mortality.^7,9
Most people with asthma lead normal lives and can participate competitively in sport. Many of Australia's leading sportsmen and women have asthma.⁷

References

1.	Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring 2003, 2005. Asthma in Australia 2003, 2005. AIHW Asthma Series 1. AIHW cat no. ACM1. Canberra: AIHW.
2.	Position statement. Environmental allergen avoidance in allergic asthma. Ad Hoc Working Group on Environmental Allergens and Asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1999;103(2 Pt 1):203-5.
3.	Illi S et al. The pattern of atopic sensitization is associated with the development of asthma in childhood. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2001;108(5):709-714.
4.	Rhodes HL et al. Early risk factors for adult asthma: A birth cohort study of subjects at risk. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2001;108(5):720-725.
5.	Martinez FD, Wright AL, Taussig LM et al. Asthma and wheezing in the first six years of life. N Engl J Med 1995;332:133-8.
6.	Rasmussen F et al. Risk factors for hospital admission for asthma from childhood to young adulthood: A longitudinal population study. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2002;110(2): 220-227.
7.	National Asthma Council Australia. Asthma Management Handbook 2002. Melbourne, 2002.
8.	Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006. Causes of Death: Australia, Cat. No. 3303.0.
9.	Coughlan J, Wilson A, Gibson P. Summary report of the 1999 evidence-based review of the Australian Six Step Asthma Management Plan. NSW Health 2000.

Asthma in Australia: findings from the 2004–05 National Health Survey

From the Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring.

This report presents results from the most recent National Health Survey conducted in 2004–05 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This survey provides Australia’s only nationwide source of individual experiences with asthma, including prevalence, management, quality of life and exposure to known risk factors. This report also compares findings from the current survey with those from the previous National Health Survey in 2001.

Some of the key findings of the report are as follows.

Prevalence

2004-5 prevalence of asthma in Australia was estimated at 10.3% (or about 2,013,530 people) compared with
2001 when the prevalence was 11.6%.
In 2004–05 Australians with current asthma rated their general health as better and reported less asthma-related days off work or study than they did in 2001.
Compared with other Australians
Prevalence of asthma among Indigenous Australians is higher
Prevalence of asthma among people living in the most disadvantaged localities is higher.

Written Asthma Action Plans

People with asthma who have a written asthma action plan
23% in 2004–05
17% in 2001
People with current asthma reported taking inhaled corticosteroids every day or night in the last 2 weeks
14%

Smoking

Adults with asthma who also smoke
25%
Children with asthma exposed to passive smoking
11%

Obesity

Among women, there was also a relationship between the presence of asthma and obesity.

Other Health Issues

Compared with people without asthma, people with asthma had
worse self-assessed health,
higher levels of psychological distress, and
more mental and behavioural problems.
People aged under 35 years with asthma were twice as likely to have arthritis as those of the same age without asthma.

Overall

The results suggest that the burden of asthma in Australia has reduced and there have been some improvements in management between 2001 and 2004–05.
Socioeconomic disparities are widening and there are still a number of areas for improvement.
Interventions that would have health gains
appropriate use of inhaled corticosteroids
appropriate use of written asthma action plans,
reduce smoking and exposure to passive smoke among people with asthma,
reduce obesity among people with asthma.

To view a copy of the report go to
Asthma in Australia: findings from the 2004–05 NHS (408KB)
(http://www.asthmamonitoring.org/PDF/A_I_A_Findings2004_05.pdf)

Asthma in Australia 2005

From the Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring.

Go to ACAM Media Release

This report brings together data from a wide range of sources to describe the status of asthma in Australia in 2005. It provides information about the number of people who have asthma, who receive various treatments for asthma, who visit their GP or hospitals, or who die due to asthma. It also contains information about the impact of asthma on quality of life, the relationship of asthma to smoking, and how much expenditure there is on health care for asthma in Australia.

The findings of this report confirm that asthma continues to be a common chronic condition among Australians, particularly children. However, over the past five to 10 years, there has been a substantial decline in deaths and hospitalisations for asthma and also in rates of GP consultation for asthma. This has been accompanied by changes in the nature of drug treatment for asthma, and by an increase in expenditure on asthma, particularly for pharmaceuticals.

Some of the key findings of the report are as follows:

A significant proportion of the Australian population has asthma. Asthma affects 14–16% of children and 10–12% of adults. These rates are high by international standards.
The prevalence of asthma in Australia increased through the 1980s and 1990s, but evidence suggests there has been no further increase in recent years.
In primary school-aged children, asthma is more common among boys than among girls. After teenage years, more women have asthma than men.
Asthma is more common among Indigenous Australians, particularly adults, than among other Australians.
Asthma is less common among Australians who were born in non-English-speaking countries than among other Australians.
The number of deaths due to asthma has continued to decline. In 2003, 314 people died from asthma, representing 0.3% of all deaths. Asthma deaths have decreased in Australia since the early 1980s, but the rate of asthma deaths in Australia is still high in comparison to other countries.
The risk of dying from asthma is highest in the elderly; however, asthma deaths occur in all age groups.

To view a copy of the report go to
Asthma in Australia 2005 (http://www.asthmamonitoring.org/PDF/aia05.pdf)

(7MB PDF file. Large file warning - recommend "Right click and Save Target As" and save to your hard disk before opening.)

Health Care Expenditure and the Burden of Disease due to Asthma in Australia, 2000-1

Authored by Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring.

Go to AIHW Media Release

This report provides a summary of two aspects of the economic impact of asthma in Australia:

health care expenditure on asthma and
burden of disease attributable to asthma-related disability and premature mortality.

The Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring (ACAM), a collaborating unit of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, has now released Heath Care Expenditure and the Burden of Disease due to Asthma in Australia, 2000-1.

The report shows that across all age groups 1.4% of total recurrent health expenditure (an estimated $693 million) was spent on treating asthma in 2000-01.

Proportion spent on asthma

It is children, particularly boys aged 5-14 years, that have the highest proportion spent on asthma.

For boys in the 5-14 years age group it was 5.5% while for girls in the same age range the proportion was 3.2%.
For 0-4 year olds the proportions spent on asthma were also relatively high, at 4.1% and 4.2% for boys and girls respectively.
Young children aged 0-4 years also had the highest per capita rate of asthma expenditure among the Australian population. In this age range it costs an average of $76 per boy and $66 per girl to treat the illness each year.
More than a quarter of total asthma expenditure in the health sector (hospital care, out-of-hospital care, and pharmaceuticals) was for children aged 0-14 years.
Nearly half (46%) of all hospital expenditure for asthma was for children aged 0-14 years.

Other points from the report show

Over half (54%) of health expenditure allocated to asthma in 2000-01 was attributed to pharmaceuticals. This is significantly higher than the proportion of the total health expenditure attributed to pharmaceuticals (16%).
Between 1993-94 and 2000-01 there was a 21% real increase in asthma health expenditure, which was less than the 26% increase in overall health expenditure for the same period.
Spending on out-of-hospital care for asthma (GPs and specialists) fell by 18% over the same period while overall out-of-hospital care expenditure rose by 16%.

Heath Care Expenditure and the Burden of Disease due to Asthma in Australia, 2000-1 is available from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare website.

AIHW Publications (http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/10148)

Measuring the impact of asthma on quality of life in the Australian population

The report provides a comprehensive review of approaches to measuring the impact of asthma on quality of life that can be used in population-based monitoring.

Policy makers, data agencies and researchers in measuring population health may find this report useful.

Measuring the impact of asthma on quality of life in the Australian population (929 KB PDF File. Large file warning - recommend "Right click and Save Target As" and save to your hard disk before opening)

http://www.asthmamonitoring.org/PDF/Asthma_QoL05.pdf