Statistics from the Scottish Health Survey 1998 (2000) indicate that there are 400,000 people receiving treatment for asthma in Scotland, 1 in 15 adults and 1 in 9 children are receiving treatment for asthma. It is estimated that 636,000 people in Scotland will be diagnosed with asthma at some point in their lives Asthma Audit 2001(2003). Across the UK, we estimate that 5.1 million people are currently being treated for asthma, 1 in 8 children and 1 in 13 adults, and that 8 million people in the UK have been diagnosed with asthma at some stage in their lives Asthma Audit 2001(2003). This is on average 1 in 7 of the UK population. Over 1200 people died from asthma in Scotland between 1990 and 1999, of which 43% were under the age of 65 Scottish Health Survey 1998 (2000). Across the United Kingdom 1,500 people still die from asthma each year. Many of these deaths might have been prevented with adequate routine and emergency care. The Scottish Confidential Inquiry into Asthma Deaths 1994-1996 found that inadequate routine care was a factor in 35% of deaths, a delay in obtaining help during the final attack played a part in 20% of asthma deaths and poor adherence to medication contributed in 18% of cases Bucknall et al (1999). There are nearly 7500 hospital admissions for asthma each year in Scotland, over 2700 of these are for children with asthma, across the UK there are nearly 74,000 emergency hospital admissions for asthma each year, approximately 40,000 adult admissions and 30,000 childhood admissions Asthma Audit 2001(2003). This indicates that the rate of people diagnosed with asthma is increasing this may be due to more comprehensive investigations of the condition and symptoms being diagnosed more successfully.
A risk factor is anything that may increase a person's chance of developing a disease. It may be an activity, diet, family history, or many other things. Different diseases have different risk factors.
