Asthma snapshot
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What is asthma?
Asthma is a chronic disease marked by episodes of wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath associated with widespread narrowing of the airways within the lungs and obstruction of airflow. The underlying problem is chronic inflammation of the air passages, which also tend to over-react by narrowing too easily and too much in response to a wide range of 'triggers', such as:
- exercise
- viral infections
- allergens
- environmental irritants (including tobacco smoke and other pollutants)
- food chemicals
- aspirin and other medications.
The disease affects all age groups and ranges in severity from intermittent mild symptoms to a severe, incapacitating and sometimes life-threatening disorder.
Why is asthma a National Health Priority Area?
People with asthma can experience reduced quality of life and require a range of health services from consultations in primary care to casualty/emergency department visits to hospital inpatient care. The symptoms are usually reversible with treatment, but death can sometimes result if a severe asthmatic episode is not managed properly. Asthma is a common cause of absenteeism from school and also affects family, work and recreation.
Among those aged under 15 years, the prevalence of asthma is higher for males than females but, among those aged 15 years and over, the reverse is true. Overall, females had a significantly higher prevalence of asthma (10.9%) than males (8.9%) in 2007-08, although the highest prevalence occurred in males aged 5-9 years (15.1%). (Australia's health 2010 pages: 181-183, June 2010)
In the 2007-08 NHS, 25.0% of adults with asthma rated their health as only 'fair' or 'poor' compared with 13.8% of adults without asthma. Those with asthma also report much higher levels of psychological distress than those without asthma. In 2007-08, 19.9% of adults aged 18 years and over with asthma had high/very high psychological distress compared with 11.1% of those without asthma. (Australia's health 2010 pages: 182-184, June 2010)
It is estimated that, in 2010, asthma will be the 10th leading contributor to the overall burden of disease in Australia, accounting for 2.3% of the total number of DALYs. In that year, 66,000 years of healthy life are estimated to be lost due to asthma. (Australia's health 2010 pages: 184-186, June 2010)