Interesting asthma facts

• 700 - 800 Australians currently die from asthma each year although prior to the introduction of bronchodilators in the 1930's, asthma was not regarded as a fatal disease.

• 2 million Australians have now been clinically diagnosed with asthma.

• Over 30% of Australian school aged children have currently have asthma although even as late as the 1960's it was not considered common.

• Over 12% of Australian adults have asthma.

• The incidence of asthma in Australian school aged children has doubled in the last 10 years.

• The number of prescriptions for asthma treatment in Australia is estimated to be 10 million per year.

• Asthma is the most common chronic illness of children and adolescents.

• The total cost burden of asthma to the Australian community is estimated to be $700 million per year - if it keeps going like this, it will rival that other "disease" - tobacco - for an oversized proportion of our health dollars.

• The total of $700 million consists of around $340 million in medical related costs and around $360 million in indirect costs due to lost productivity.

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