One in Five Britons Suffer from Asthma

As cold air and low temperatures set in, independent analyst firm Datamonitor Healthcare has revealed that around one in five Britons will suffer the effects of asthma this winter.

Across the five major EU markets* the UK has the highest prevalence of diagnosed asthmatics with 18% or 11.1 million of the population living with the condition. The numbers and hence the proportion of population living with asthma is lower in other countries in the five major EU markets where prevalence proportions only range from 6% to 11%.

Sabada Dube, lead epidemiologist at Datamonitor Healthcare commented: “Although the actual prevalent proportion of diagnosed asthma will remain constant in the next 10 years, the actual number of people with asthma is set to increase steadily, hitting about 11.4 million by 2021."

Asthma is a condition that affects the airways, which carry air in and out of the lungs. When someone comes into contact with an asthma trigger, such as cold air, the respiratory muscles tighten, making it difficult to breathe.

According to research by Datamonitor Healthcare, rising population numbers together with the launch of new biologic therapies and other pipeline products will see the asthma market continue its trend of solid growth. In the UK, sales for asthma are expected to reach $1.2 billion by 2021.

* The 5 major EU markets are France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK