Number of asthma sufferers set to soar

MORE than 30 million people in Europe have asthma and deaths have reached 180,000 a year, with one person dying every hour.

The cost is now an estimated €27 billion a year but diagnosis, treatment and medication is lagging behind research according to a conference of experts in Brussels.

Too often there is an incorrect diagnosis of the type of lung ailment and the wrong medication is prescribed.

Medicines have not been specifically developed for children and clinical trials, where drugs are often tested on only 2% of the type of people affected by the disease, are not representative of the asthmatic population.

The situation is getting worse and the experts say that by 2015, half of all Europeans are likely to suffer from at least one form of allergy.

Leading asthma experts, EU policymakers, regulators and patient groups met yesterday to discuss asthma management and the need for change.

One of the conference organisers, MEP Liz Lynne, who suffers from asthma said: “Every hour at least one person dies of asthma in western Europe, and more than six million Europeans with asthma live in fear that their next attack could kill them. Much of this could be prevented with appropriate routine and emergency care.

“As an asthma sufferer myself, I feel that there is a real need to make sure that more information is made readily available to patients and that there is much more specialist training for health professionals.

“Patients must be empowered and expect more from their treatment, including an individualised treatment programme and more information on the effects of any drugs they are prescribed.”

The conference heard that the traditional medical model of treating asthma has to be changed and its treatment and prevention requires a holistic approach not based just on medication.

They want the EU to take a lead in changing this by coordinating change and making asthma and respiratory allergies a priority in health programmes.

The extent of the problem is not widely known partly because allergies are a modern phenomenon and are growing rapidly.

One-in-four Europeans have some form of respiratory allergy and experts estimate that one-in-seven suffer food allergies.

One of the most devastating and irreversible lung diseases, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), is little known and frequently undiagnosed, according to the experts. Its cause is not known but sufferers are affected by tobacco smoke, solvents and other irritants.

Yet three-quarters of those with COPD have difficulty simply walking upstairs. It is the only leading cause of death that is increasing in the world and is due to become the third most common cause of death by 2020.

The economic cost is enormous too and accounts for half the annual cost of all lung diseases — which has been put at €102 billion or €118 per person a year in treatment and lost productivity.

Currently, a quarter of those suffering from asthma in western Europe have such a severe attack once a week they cannot even call out for help.