Asthma - Ten Facts You May Wish To Know About It

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Here are ten more facts you may wish to know about this airway
disease.
? It affects 5 to 8% of the population. The prevalence is rising in
many parts of the world but no one really knows why. This disease
costs the United States of America more than $7 billion per year. The
impact of the disease tends to fall more heavily on minorities and
inner-city African-American and Hispanic persons.
? Asthma occurs at all ages but mainly in early life. About 50% of
cases develop before the age of 10 and about 33% occur before the age
of 40. In childhood, males are more affected than females but the sex
ration equalizes by the age of 30.
? Most childhood asthmatics either grow out of the disease in
adolescence, or suffer much less as adults. A significant number of
people develop chronic form of the disease late in life.
? The disease results in more than 2000 deaths per year in the United
Kingdom and about 50% of those deaths are people aged more than 65
years old.
? Atopy (an allergic reaction with strong family tendencies) is the
single largest risk factor for the development of the disease. The so
called 'allergic asthma' is often associated with a personal and/or
family history of allergic diseases such as rhinitis, urticaria
(hives), and eczema.
? However, a large proportion of people suffering from the disease
have no personal or family history of allergy. These people are said
to have 'idiosyncratic or nonatopic asthma'. In general, if it occurs
in early life, the sufferer tends to have a strong allergic component,
whereas if it develops in late life, the sufferer tends not to have
any allergic contribution whatsoever.
? Although there is little doubt that the disease has a strong
familial component, the identification of the genetic mechanisms
underlying the illness has proven very difficult due to lack of
uniform agreement on the definition of the disease, an incomplete
understanding of how environmental factors modify genetic expression
and the inability to define a single phenotype for the disease.
? The stimuli that trigger sudden episode of the disease can be
grouped into seven major categories: allergenic, drugs (examples of
drugs that can stimulate asthma are Aspirin, Nonsteroidal anti-
inflammatory drugs, Beta-blockers), environmental (air pollution),
occupational (in various industries), infectious, exercise-induced and
emotional.
? Respiratory infections are the most common stimuli that trigger
acute episodes of the disease. Respiratory viruses and not bacteria or
allergy to microorganisms are the major causative factors. In young
children, the most important infectious agents are respiratory
syncytial virus and parainfluenza virus. In older children and adults,
rhinovirus and influenza virus predominate as the causative
microorganisms.
? It is important to note that some sufferers may not have any sign(s)
of the disease, in other words, they may have normal breath sounds. In
such individuals, a bronchoprovocation test may be required to make
the diagnosis.