Studies have shown that incidence of asthma is on the rise among people in the high income group.
Jacob Baby, president of the Cochin Thoracic Society, said the study linked asthma to lifestyle diseases. Though genetic factors were of primary concern, there were issues such as sedentary lifestyle and the kind of food that predisposed people to asthma.
A survey in 2011-12 found an increasing trend of asthma in children in the age group of five to 12 years. It was found that these children watched television for more than two hours at a stretch.
It was not watching television per se that increased asthma, said Dr. Baby but the fact that they spend more time on a sofa or a comfortable seat that might be carrying mites. Besides, what these children ate during this time was also taken into account.
Asthma is a condition of reactive airway, said Dr. Baby, pulmonologist at a Kochi hospital. An irritant triggers the condition. It could be air pollution or dust mites found in carpets, beddings, and pillows or it could be certain foodstuff. He said early diagnosis played a crucial role in patient condition.
Medicine compliance to asthma is very poor, nearly 70 per cent, say pulmonologists. It had been found that patients tend to falter after few months when they feel that medicines have cured them.
“Every day, I consult 7-10 patients who require consultation not only for the disease but also for continuing medicines,” said Dr. Baby.
Praveen Valsalan, secretary, Cochin Thoracic Society and pulmonologist at a Kochi hospital, said people stopped medication due to cost of medicines, side-effects, myths about inhaler devices, and social stigma.
The most-effective asthma treatment, which is said to be inhalation therapy, is available in the country at Rs. 4 to Rs.6 a day, which means that a year’s supply of medicine is less than the cost of one night stay in a hospital, he said.
Proper medication helps preserve the condition of lungs, say pulmonologists. They pitch for inhalation therapy is because the drug is delivered directly to the affected place and the side-effects are low .
(Reporting by
Shyama Rajagopal)
Though genetic factors are of primary concern, sedentary lifestyle and the kind of food that make a person prone to asthma
