Prevalence and burden of asthma in China: time to act

Asthma is a common chronic airway disease worldwide in children and adults. 1 GBD 2015 Chronic Respiratory Disease CollaboratorsGlobal, regional, and national deaths, prevalence, disability-adjusted life years, and years lived with disability for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet Respir Med. 2017; 5: 691-706 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (1235) Google Scholar , 2 de Roos EW Lahousse L Verhamme KMC et al. Asthma and its comorbidities in middle-aged and older adults; the Rotterdam Study. Respir Med. 2018; 139: 6-12 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (19) Google Scholar The prevalence of asthma is increasing in industrialised countries, whereas a rural upbringing has been shown to protect from allergies and asthma. 3 Ege MJ Mayer M Normand A-C et al. Exposure to environmental microorganisms and childhood asthma. N Engl J Med. 2011; 364: 701-709 Crossref PubMed Scopus (1065) Google Scholar China has developed from a traditional agricultural society into an industrialised country with dense populations in megacities and the accompanying challenges of air pollution. These rapidly changing lifestyle and environmental factors could affect the incidence and prevalence of asthma. Estimates of the prevalence of asthma in China from previous epidemiological studies 4 Lin J Wang W Chen P et al. Prevalence and risk factors of asthma in mainland China: the CARE study. Respir Med. 2018; 137: 48-54 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (54) Google Scholar , 5 Wang XD Zheng M Lou HF et al. An increased prevalence of self-reported allergic rhinitis in major Chinese cities from 2005 to 2011. Allergy. 2016; 71: 1170-1180 Crossref PubMed Scopus (161) Google Scholar ranged from 1·2% to 5·8% in the surveyed territories, but the studies did not include systematic lung function testing. Prevalence, risk factors, and management of asthma in China: a national cross-sectional studyAsthma is prevalent but largely undiagnosed and undertreated in China. It is crucial to increase the awareness of asthma and disseminate standardised treatment in clinical settings to reduce the disease burden. Full-Text PDF