Bronchial asthma is a non-infectious respiratory disease . Obstruction of the bronchi develops against the background of contact with allergens, which leads to the development of the disease.
In Russia, bronchial asthma, according to statistics, has been diagnosed in 300 million people.
What is asthma
The disease is accompanied by difficulty in the passage of air in the respiratory tract. In accordance with the data available to the official statistics on the prevalence of bronchial asthma, the pathology develops more often in the fairer sex. In men, asthma is detected in 30% of cases. There are a lot of reasons for the appearance of pathology. It develops against the background of exposure to a variety of stimuli.
According to the data on the incidence of bronchial asthma, it most often appears in patients of working age when exposed to exogenous allergens. The defeat of the respiratory tract develops when dust and pollen of various plants enter them. The disease also occurs in people with an allergic reaction to certain foods.
With bronchial asthma, patients have corresponding symptoms. Statistics show that the pathology is accompanied by difficulty breathing, coughing, and a feeling of tightness in the chest. There are other manifestations of bronchial asthma that are not so common in patients: shortness of breath, wheezing on exhalation.
Factors provoking the development of the disease
Asthma occurs in humans when exposed to a variety of provoking factors. Pathology in adults most often develops after pneumonia. At the same time, the occurrence of bronchial asthma in children suggests a genetic predisposition to the disease; cases when there are no such prerequisites are much less common.
If one of the parents has been diagnosed with asthma, this can cause the child to develop it as well. The provoking factor in this case is allergy, irritants can be of any kind. Bronchial asthma may be accompanied by allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis.
Asthma statistics
In accordance with the statistics of the incidence of bronchial asthma, the number of patients is increasing daily. This is due to the large amount of emissions from industrial enterprises, which negatively affect the human body. The prevalence of bronchial asthma in the world is explained by heredity and general pollution of the planet. The disease also appears with poor-quality nutrition.
The statistics of bronchial asthma in the Russian Federation calls a figure of 900,000 patients. This is 6.2 percent of the total population of the state. In children, pathology is diagnosed several times more often than in adult patients.
It is very difficult to establish an exact picture of the prevalence of the disease. This is due to the fact that when symptoms of the disease appear, patients do not always turn to a doctor in a timely manner. That is why the beginning of the pathological process is not recorded.
Only 20% of people who most often have pronounced symptoms of the disease go to doctors in a timely manner. In such patients, treatment is successful. In other cases, it is difficult to overcome the pathology, which is explained by the neglect of the condition.
Asthma statistics in adults
About who often suffers from bronchial asthma: men or women, many patients who have this disease are asked. In the fairer sex, pathology is diagnosed in 68 percent of all cases. In most cases, the disease affects people of working age – more than 77 percent.
The incidence of severe bronchial asthma is explained by untimely visits to the doctor. That is why asthma is often diagnosed even when it is impossible to cure it: then symptoms of suffocation and difficulty breathing appear.
More and more often, such cases are revealed when patients develop a severe form of pathology due to the fact that when the first symptoms of the disease appear, they try to find a solution to the problem in the Global Network, but do not turn to the help of official medicine.
Statistics say that in 2 percent of patients, pathology is diagnosed against the background of professional activity. Bronchial asthma is detected more often in those who work in industrial enterprises. At risk are patients who work:
- The bakers. Most of them are constantly working with flour. It irritates the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, which leads to pathology;
- Veterinarians. Their activity is associated with constant contact with animals. This can lead to wool allergies. For this reason, asthma can also occur in pet shop workers, farmers, zoo workers;
- In industrial plants with harmful production conditions. These people come into contact with chemicals, this leads to illness.
In adults who have such a bad habit as smoking, the disease occurs frequently. Tobacco smoke irritates the respiratory tract, which is a trigger for asthma. Passive smoking also allows a person to be classified as a risk group.
Statistics of bronchial asthma in children
Bronchial asthma in children often develops, which is explained by the insufficient formation of the immune system and the body as a whole. Statistics say that in children under the age of 1 year, the pathological process is diagnosed with allergies to certain foods. If the baby’s age is between 1 and 3 years old, the disease appears as a reaction to household allergens. At the age of 3-4 years in children, pathology is diagnosed with allergic reactions to plant pollen.
As for the statistics on the prevalence of bronchial asthma, among children, this disease is detected in 10% of the total number of cases. At the same time, asthma is detected in boys 3 times more often than in girls, which is exactly the opposite of the incidence in adults. Symptoms of the disease appear more often in infancy and preschool age; among adolescents, asthma is detected several times less often.
Children usually suffer from an allergic form of bronchial asthma. In 80% of children, this is due to the fact that their body specifically reacts to certain allergenic substances, that is, they have atopy . The appearance of the disease is facilitated, among other things, by the hyperreactivity of the bronchi, which is quite often observed in childhood.
In most cases of bronchial asthma in babies, the disease is diagnosed with an allergy to household chemicals. The development of a child presupposes a high sensitivity to its ingredients, in connection with which an allergy manifests itself. For this reason, pathology appears in children, regardless of their age. At an early age, the disease occurs when you are allergic to chocolate, eggs, strawberries, milk.
House dust can also be a cause of the disease. With untimely wet cleaning in the house, its accumulation and the spread of dust mites are observed. Pests gather in soft toys, carpets, cracks, etc. Patients experience an exacerbation of the disease in spring and autumn.
Risk groups in children
With regard to the likelihood of asthma, the following children are at risk:
- born prematurely;
- suffering from viral infections 5-6 times a year;
- growing up in a family of smokers;
- receiving little nutrients and vitamins;
- living in areas with high air pollution;
- those whose mother was sick with any disease during pregnancy.
If the parents are worried about the child’s cough, shortness of breath or wheezing, you should immediately consult a doctor who can examine the baby and make the correct diagnosis. It is important that the doctor conducts a differential diagnosis: if the diagnosis is incorrectly diagnosed, treatment can aggravate the disease, which will turn into a severe form. Bronchial asthma will not necessarily be detected, but this approach helps to prescribe effective treatment in time for any pathology.
The disease also appears when exposed to epidermal allergens – saliva, wool and animal fluff. With the instability of the baby’s body, the development of pathology is observed towards them. If, when the first symptoms of the disease appear, the pet is removed from the house, then there will be no immediate effect from this.
This is because the allergen can persist for several years in the house in the form of microscopic particles floating in the air. Therefore, it is recommended to carry out a general cleaning in such a house in order to minimize exposure to allergens.
Statistics say that the disease is diagnosed in about 10 percent of children. Most often, the pathological process develops in preschool age. In Russia, one million children under the age of 4 suffer from the disease. In boys, the pathological process develops three times more often than in girls.
With bronchial asthma, there is a high mortality rate for children. During the period of seizures while in a medical institution, mortality is diagnosed in 7,000 children. This is partly due to lack of medical experience. Most of the children who died were misdiagnosed.
Asthma statistics compared to other diseases
Many Russian scientists speak about the statistics of the incidence of bronchial asthma. Specific figures show that asthma is diagnosed 33 times more often than lung cancer. Heart disease occurs 300 times more often than bronchial asthma.
In the fairer sex, breast cancer and asthma occur in a 1: 3 ratio. HIV infection is diagnosed 4-5 times less often than this disease.
World statistics show that bronchial asthma is diagnosed most often in Chinese residents. In Russia, there are 20 percent of deaths from attacks of the disease.
Considering the above statistics, it can be concluded that asthma should be diagnosed in a timely manner. If the patient has the first symptoms of pathology, then he should seek help from a doctor. Only an experienced specialist, after carrying out the appropriate diagnostic measures, will be able to make the correct diagnosis and prescribe the correct treatment.
The increase in the incidence of bronchial asthma and its causes
Asthma morbidity statistics allowed experts to draw conclusions about the peculiarities of the development of the disease. The incidence rate of bronchial asthma directly depends on the region of residence of a person. Statistics show that asthma is recorded most often in those regions where industry is developed, and, accordingly, the amount of emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere is increased. This applies to chemical industries, metallurgical and other enterprises, which, unfortunately, do not comply with the established standards that determine the optimal amount of waste.
Increasing number of people living in areas with an active movement of transport and close to the industrial facilities, suffer from asthma, which is due to air pollution. If a person lives near a road, then the risk of developing bronchial asthma increases. When assessing the situation in the country in general, statistics show the following: asthma appears when exposed to a number of adverse factors.
Poor categories of the population are most susceptible to the disease. This is because they simply do not have enough money to undergo a full-fledged medical examination and receive effective treatment. The spread of asthma is explained by the rather high cost of drugs, as well as their shortage, especially with regard to childhood morbidity.
In order to avoid the development of the disease, the patient is recommended to direct all actions to strengthen the immune system. When choosing food products, one should give preference to natural ones, with a minimum amount of harmful substances such as dyes and flavors . Regular walks in the fresh air are an excellent preventive measure.
WHO strategy for asthma prevention and control
After the research carried out by the World Health Organization, the statistics of bronchial asthma were published. The organization’s specialists say that this is an important problem for healthcare institutions.
The organization coordinates international actions to eliminate pathology in the world. WHO has identified the factors influencing the incidence and developed a scheme of actions to eliminate the possibility of the development of pathology.
The program regulations must fulfill certain goals. Strengthening surveillance is recommended to map the prevalence of asthma .
It is also planned to analyze the factors causing it, monitor trends and draw attention to people belonging to the poor and vulnerable groups of the population.
