Better management of asthma in the community is not only
possible, but has the potential to reduce the impact of the disease
on people's lives, according to a report by the Australian Centre
for Asthma Monitoring (ACAM)-a collaborating unit of the Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare.
The report, Asthma in Australia 2005, was launched in
Sydney today by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for
Health and Ageing, Christopher Pyne.
It shows that 1 in 7 children and 1 in 9 adults have current
doctor-diagnosed asthma-these are high levels by international
standards.
But, according to ACAM Director, Dr Guy Marks, there is much
that can be done to improve outcomes of asthma and reduce
attacks.
'Written asthma action plans have been shown to be very
effective in managing this disease, yet their use has been falling
since 1995. Only around 1 in 6 people with current asthma have
them.'
'The plans are written instructions on how to recognise when
asthma is getting worse, and what action to take when it does.
There is no doubt that these plans help many people to control
their asthma and stay out of hospital.
'Similarly, regular use of inhaled corticosteroids can reduce
asthma symptoms and prevent severe episodes in people with
persistent asthma, but our statistics show that many people who
would benefit from using them regularly are not doing so. On the
other hand, among people using inhaled corticosteroids, the
majority are taking them at the highest dose. For some of these
people a lower dose may be just as effective.'
Dr Marks said there was nevertheless plenty of good news to tell
about asthma.
'Deaths due to asthma are pretty uncommon now, with the rates
falling by half since the early 1990s. In 2003, 314 people died in
Australia due to asthma, with nearly two-thirds of these deaths
being in people aged 65 years or over.'
'And since the early 1990s there has also been a fall in rates
of GP visits and hospitalisations for asthma in all age groups,
especially children.'
Other findings in the report include:
- Children attend emergency departments for asthma most
frequently after the beginning of each school term, possibly
because of increased spread of respiratory infections at this
time.
- Asthma is more common among Indigenous Australians,
particularly adults, than other Australians.
- In primary school-aged children, asthma is more common among
boys. After the teenage years, more women have asthma than
men.
12 August 2005
Further information: For interviews with Dr Guy
Marks and other ACAM staff, please call Lucy Williams, Woolcock
Institute of Medical Research, tel. 0403 753 028
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel 61 2 6244 1032.
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for availability of the Asthma in Australia
2005.