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Asthma in adults

How common is asthma in adults?

About 22 million American adults have asthma.

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
National health interview survey - 2005 asthma data.
Available at http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/NHIS/05/data.htm (accessed on 5 November 2009).

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Protection.
FastStats - Asthma. 2009.
Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/asthma.htm (accessed October 16 2009).

Asthma is more common now than it used to be.

Source:
Lugogo NL, Kraft M.
Epidemiology of asthma.
Clinics in Chest Medicine. 2006; 27: 1-15.

³ There are probably several reasons why.

Some doctors think that children who don't get many colds and other infections are more likely to get asthma than children who often get colds.

Source:
Rees J.
ABC of asthma: prevalence.
BMJ. 2005; 331: 443-445.

⁴ This is called the hygiene hypothesis. The idea is that getting colds and other infections keeps the immune system busy. If your immune system isn't kept busy, it may overreact to harmless things, such as pollen. This may cause asthma.
Another theory is that our homes contain more triggers (such as house dust mites) that may cause asthma.

Source:
Rees J.
ABC of asthma: prevalence.
BMJ. 2005; 331: 443-445.

⁴ This may happen because we have central heating and air out our homes less than we used to. There are also more man-made chemicals in our food. These cause asthma in some people.

Asthma is more common in children than in adults:

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
National health interview survey - 2005 asthma data.
Available at http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/NHIS/05/data.htm (accessed on 5 November 2009).

About 9 in 100 children have asthma
About 7 in 100 adults have asthma.

Asthma usually starts in childhood. But not everyone who has asthma as a child will still have it as an adult. Up to three-quarters of children grow out of it.

Source:
Kelly WJ, Hudson I, Phelan PD, et al.
Childhood asthma in adult life: a further study at 28 years of age.
BMJ Clinical Research Edition. 1987; 294: 1059-1062.

⁵ However, children who get symptoms more often are more likely still to have asthma in later life.

In the United States, asthma is slightly more common in black people than in white people or Hispanic people (who are not Puerto Rican).

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
National health interview survey - 2005 asthma data.
Available at http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/NHIS/05/data.htm (accessed on 5 November 2009).

⁶ And it's slightly more common in women than in men. Although as children, boys are more likely to get asthma than girls.

Sources for the information on this page:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.National health interview survey - 2005 asthma data.Available at http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/NHIS/05/data.htm (accessed on 5 November 2009).

Centers for Disease Control and Protection.FastStats - Asthma. 2009.Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/asthma.htm (accessed October 16 2009).

Lugogo NL, Kraft M.Epidemiology of asthma.Clinics in Chest Medicine. 2006; 27: 1-15.

Rees J.ABC of asthma: prevalence.BMJ. 2005; 331: 443-445.

Kelly WJ, Hudson I, Phelan PD, et al.Childhood asthma in adult life: a further study at 28 years of age.BMJ Clinical Research Edition. 1987; 294: 1059-1062.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.National health interview survey - 2005 asthma data.Available at http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/NHIS/05/data.htm (accessed on 5 November 2009).

This information was last updated on Nov 09, 2009

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment.
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