Asthma Disease Overview
Asthma is a chronic disease characterized by recurrent attacks of breathlessness and wheezing, which vary in severity and frequency from person to person.
About Asthma
Asthma is a chronic disease characterized by recurrent attacks of breathlessness and wheezing, which vary in severity and frequency from person to person.1
Find out about the global burden of asthma and its impact on patients below.
What is asthma?
Asthma is a heterogeneous disease, usually characterized by chronic airway inflammation. It is defined by the history of respiratory symptoms such as wheeze, shortness of breath, chest tightness and cough that vary over time and in intensity, together with variable expiratory airflow limitation.2
Asthma is a serious global health problem affecting all age groups. Its prevalence is increasing in many countries, especially among children.2
Prevalence

The burden of asthma
Recurrent asthma symptoms frequently cause sleeplessness, daytime fatigue, reduced activity levels and school and work absenteeism.1
Almost 9 out of 10 asthma patients make regular adjustments to their lives, and miss out because of their condition3
What could your patients be missing out on?
Reducing the asthma burden
Although asthma cannot be cured, appropriate management can control the disease and enable people to enjoy a good quality of life.1
The long-term goals of asthma management are to achieve good symptom control, and to minimise future risk of exacerbations.2
References:
- World Health Organization. Asthma Fact sheet no. 307. Updated November 2013. Available at http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs307/en/ (accessed October 2015).
- Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA). Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention (updated 2015). www.ginasthma.org
- Dale P et al. European Respiratory Society Annual Congress. 2011; Poster P4947.
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