Asthma in adults - How common is it?

About 4.1 million British adults have asthma.[1]

About 60 percent of adults with asthma are women.[1]

Asthma is more common now than it used to be.[2] There are probably several reasons why.

Some doctors think that children who don't get many colds and other infections are more likely to get asthma than children who often get colds.[3] This is called the hygiene hypothesis. The idea is that getting colds and other infections keeps the immune system busy. If your immune system isn't kept busy, it may overreact to harmless things, such as pollen. This may cause asthma.
Another theory is that our homes contain more triggers (such as house dust mites) that may cause asthma.[3] This may happen because we have central heating and air our homes less than we used to. There are also more man-made chemicals in our food. These cause asthma in some people.

Asthma usually starts in childhood. But not everyone who has asthma as a child will still have it as an adult. Up to three-quarters of children grow out of it.[4] However, children who get symptoms more often are more likely still to have asthma in later life.

References

Asthma UK. Where do we stand? Asthma in the UK today. December 2004. Available at http://www.asthma.org.uk/all_about_asthma/publications/where_do_we.html (accessed on 15 October 2007).
Lugogo NL, Kraft M. Epidemiology of asthma. Clinics in Chest Medicine. 2006; 27: 1-15.
Rees J. ABC of asthma: prevalence. BMJ. 2005; 331: 443-445.
Kelly WJ, Hudson I, Phelan PD, et al. Childhood asthma in adult life: a further study at 28 years of age. BMJ Clinical Research Edition. 1987; 294: 1059-1062.

This information does not replace medical advice. If you are concerned you might have a medical problem please ask your Boots pharmacy team in your local Boots store, or see your doctor.