Asthma now one of the most common chronic conditions in the world

Some have suggested that after several decades of enormous growth in the number and severity of asthma cases, that trend has begun to reverse.

The authors review the available data and are unable to discover any evidence that asthma is on the decrease. To the contrary, asthma incidence and prevalence continue to climb.

In the United States, one out of every eight children has been treated for asthma by their 10th birthday.

The publication:

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Allergy. 2009 Nov 12.

Is the prevalence of asthma declining? Systematic review of epidemiological studies.

Anandan C, Nurmatov U, van Schayck OC, Sheikh A.

Summary of the abstract

Asthma prevalence has increased very considerably in recent decades such that it is now one of the commonest chronic disorders in the world.

Recent evidence from epidemiological studies, however, suggests that the prevalence of asthma may now be declining in many parts of the world.

Our objective was to determine whether the prevalence of asthma is declining worldwide.

The large volume of data identified clearly indicate that there are, at present, no overall signs of a declining trend in asthma prevalence; on the contrary, asthma prevalence is in many parts of the world still increasing.

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