Major increase expected in people with breathing difficulties by 2020

HEALTH services throughout the country are being urged to plan for significant increases in the number of people with breathing difficulties over the next decade.

The number of adults in the Republic living with breathing difficulties in 2007 was estimated at almost 94,000. In 2020, the figures is expected to exceed 131,000, a 40% increase in less than 15 years.

Research by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) points out that nearly 47,000 adults in the North had serious breathing difficulties in 2007. By 2020, the number of sufferers in the region is expected to reach 56,000 — a 21% increase.