Asthma kills at least two people a week
UP to two Irish people a week are dying of asthma - but the real number is probably higher due to under-reporting, new research has revealed.
A European survey found that the disease affects Irish sufferers particularly badly. A total of 62pc of sufferers surveyed describing the disease as "frightening".
The study found that 61pc of severe asthma patients in Ireland had their sleep disturbed a number of times a week - compared to an average of just 24pc in the other European countries surveyed.
As many as 19pc of severe sufferers here believe the condition has cost them promotion compared to 9pc in Europe.
Dr Pat Manning, respiratory physician, said Ireland had the fourth highest prevalence of asthma in the world. Eighty to 100 people died because of the disease annually.
It is estimated that 470,000 people in the Republic have asthma and of these 6,300 have a severe form of the condition.
The survey, 'Severe Asthma in Ireland and Europe, a Patient's Perspective', found that one in three people find that asthma restricts them in their daily lives.
The three most commonly used words to describe their asthma were: breathlessness, suffocation and fear.
One-third suffer 'speech-limiting attacks' every month compared to 19pc in Europe.
The prevalence of asthma attacks in the last twelve months was highest in Ireland, which has the third-highest admission rate to hospital for the disease. Switzerland and Finland top the table.
The report points out that asthma reduces a person's capacity for personal and economic fulfilment and increases their sense of isolation. "Stigma and stress are common obstacles that asthma sufferers have to face and disadvantage at work is not unusual among people suffering from asthma.
"On average it takes a week to recover from an asthma attack so it is no surprise that asthma has a direct impact on a worker's attendance or performance," the report says.
It is estimated that in one year the disease cost the State €463m - €227m of this being for emergency care and hospitalisation.
- Eilish O'Regan
