13% of adult population in UK have asthma the highest in Europe

Main Category: Respiratory / Asthma
Article Date: 28 Apr 2004 - 0:00 PST

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The UK and Ireland have the highest rates of asthma in the whole of the European, 13% of the UK adult population has asthma, says a new report by the European Respiratory Society.

The UK and Ireland has the highest death rate from respiratory diseases in the European Union.

A total of 5.1 million people in the UK suffer from asthma - that is 13% of the adult population.

More people die in the UK from lung cancer, asthma, pneumonia, COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) than heart disease.

In fact, the only countries in Europe that have worst death rates from respiratory illnesses than the UK and Ireland are Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

Denmark's and Portugal's respiratory disease death rates are also higher than the European average, but not as high as the UK's or Ireland's.

The countries that fare the best in Europe are France, Germany, Greece and Italy.

The respiratory health bill in Europe is about Euros102 billion ($120 billion) per year.

Factors that influence the rates of lung disease, apart from smoking, include the environment and occupational hazards.

Many experts in the United Kingdom say that lung disease is not given the priority it should have in the country's health services.

http://www.ersnet.org European Respiratory Society

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