Childhood Asthma Out of Control – Like World-Wide Air Pollution
Below is an article on Childhood Asthma extracted from the study shown in detail on the Nycomed website. Nycomed funded the study. The presentation here is meant only to mention the survey findings, not to advocate for any treatment or assess the risks of such treatment. No mention of prevention or cause is in this article but clearly strong international controls on allowed levels of pollution from energy generation and local controls in the case of such things as diesel motors and single cycle engine use need to be aggressively pursued. One of those controls is Cap and Trade based on 100% participation in International Agreements such as Kyoto.
Largest asthma survey shows disease is not controlled in majority of children
Asthma is not controlled in almost two thirds of affected children according to the largest ever international survey undertaken in paediatric asthma(1).
This poor result is despite apparently straightforward clinical guidelines and widely available preventative treatments for children with asthma.
The survey, “Room To Breathe”1 conducted by ICM Research, found that although only six per cent of parents had rated their child’s asthma as severe, nearly a quarter of their children (23 per cent) had been taken to an emergency department in the previous 12 months.
The Room To Breathe survey was carried out among 1,284 parents and 943 children aged four to 15 in six countries: UK, South Africa, the Netherlands, Greece, Hungary and Canada. Details of the survey are being released at the European Respiratory Society Congress 2009 in Vienna, September 12th to 16th.
Asthma affected the daily lives of the children and their families with 69 per cent of children avoiding sports and strenuous activity; half not sleeping properly, 42 per cent missing school, one in five not seeing their friends and one in five families curtailing outings and other activities. Ten per cent of children even said they had been teased or bullied because of their condition.
Despite these limitations and the impact on their child’s life, more than half of parents (57 per cent) were concerned about the effect of steroids in the asthma treatments. Inhaled corticosteroids have been endorsed by guidelines.
Notably the Room To Breathe found that nearly three quarters of parents (73 per cent) described their children’s asthma as “mild”. All parents were asked how worried they had been when their child was first diagnosed and 77 per cent said they had been “quite” or “very” worried. However, when asked how worried they felt now only 38 per cent said they felt “quite” or “very” worried.
About Asthma
Asthma is a chronic lung disease caused by airway inflammation and results in airway constriction in response to certain stimuli. It is characterized by a variety of symptoms, including wheezing, coughing and a tightening of the airways, which causes shortness of breath and can be life-threatening. According to the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), more than 300 million people worldwide suffer from asthma; the prevalence varies from 1 to 18 percent of the population in different countries. The prevalence of asthma is increasing by approximately 50 percent every decade and worldwide deaths from asthma total more than 250,000 annually(3).
Below is an article on Childhood Asthma extracted from the study shown in detail on the Nycomed website. Nycomed funded the study. The presentation here is meant only to mention the survey findings, not to advocate for any treatment or assess the risks of such treatment. No mention of prevention or cause is in this article but clearly strong international controls on allowed levels of pollution from energy generation and local controls in the case of such things as diesel motors and single cycle engine use need to be aggressively pursued. One of those controls is Cap and Trade based on 100% participation in International Agreements such as Kyoto.
Largest asthma survey shows disease is not controlled in majority of children
Asthma is not controlled in almost two thirds of affected children according to the largest ever international survey undertaken in paediatric asthma(1).
This poor result is despite apparently straightforward clinical guidelines and widely available preventative treatments for children with asthma.
The survey, “Room To Breathe”1 conducted by ICM Research, found that although only six per cent of parents had rated their child’s asthma as severe, nearly a quarter of their children (23 per cent) had been taken to an emergency department in the previous 12 months.
The Room To Breathe survey was carried out among 1,284 parents and 943 children aged four to 15 in six countries: UK, South Africa, the Netherlands, Greece, Hungary and Canada. Details of the survey are being released at the European Respiratory Society Congress 2009 in Vienna, September 12th to 16th.
Asthma affected the daily lives of the children and their families with 69 per cent of children avoiding sports and strenuous activity; half not sleeping properly, 42 per cent missing school, one in five not seeing their friends and one in five families curtailing outings and other activities. Ten per cent of children even said they had been teased or bullied because of their condition.
Despite these limitations and the impact on their child’s life, more than half of parents (57 per cent) were concerned about the effect of steroids in the asthma treatments. Inhaled corticosteroids have been endorsed by guidelines.
Notably the Room To Breathe found that nearly three quarters of parents (73 per cent) described their children’s asthma as “mild”. All parents were asked how worried they had been when their child was first diagnosed and 77 per cent said they had been “quite” or “very” worried. However, when asked how worried they felt now only 38 per cent said they felt “quite” or “very” worried.
About Asthma
Asthma is a chronic lung disease caused by airway inflammation and results in airway constriction in response to certain stimuli. It is characterized by a variety of symptoms, including wheezing, coughing and a tightening of the airways, which causes shortness of breath and can be life-threatening. According to the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), more than 300 million people worldwide suffer from asthma; the prevalence varies from 1 to 18 percent of the population in different countries. The prevalence of asthma is increasing by approximately 50 percent every decade and worldwide deaths from asthma total more than 250,000 annually(3).
No comments:
Post a Comment