Allergy, Asthma and Immunology: The global decline in asthma death rates: can we relax now?

Educational & Teaching Material Open Access Asia Pac Allergy. 2013 Jul;3(3):200-203. English. Published online 2013 July 30. http://dx.doi.org/10.5415/apallergy.2013.3.3.200
Copyright © 2013. Asia Pacific Association of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology.

Anthony S. Rebuck
Quintiles East Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore 118264, Singapore.
Correspondence: Anthony S. Rebuck. Quintiles East Asia Pte Ltd, 79 Science Park Drive, #06-08, Cintech IV, Science Park One, Singapore 118264, Singapore. Tel: +65-6602-1251, Fax: +65-6872-0430, Email:anthony.rebuck@quintiles.com

Received March 25, 2013; Accepted June 19, 2013.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract
Whilst global asthma mortality seems to be decreasing, childhood asthma incidence is rising, and early warnings from Australia show an increase in asthma-related deaths in under-15s; this article considers whether we should view the future impact of asthma with trepidation. Age-adjusted mortality statistics for asthma have been reevaluated to provide an international standard. Comparisons across regions and time are complex, yet over the last two decades asthma mortality has clearly decreased, coinciding with a significant change in asthma management. The majority of remaining asthma deaths are preventable. Nonetheless, ongoing vigilance is required. Asthma remains under-diagnosed and under-treated. Childhood asthma has become more common; it is a matter of debate whether it is also more severe. Rather than being encouraged by the fall in numbers of asthma deaths, we should focus on the surging numbers of children suffering from the disease - and the worrying increase in asthma death rates in Australian children - and work to avert future issues.