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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